"Not the First Lady, but the First Combatant"... Who Is Venezuela's First Lady?

A Figure at the Pinnacle of Legislative and Judicial Power
Set to Appear on Charges Including Narcoterrorism Conspiracy

As the Donald Trump administration launched a surprise airstrike on Venezuela and arrested President Nicolas Maduro-who had long been accused of being the head of a drug trafficking organization-and his wife, public attention has focused on First Lady Cilia Flores, age 70.

On July 16, 2024, during an election campaign held in Caracas, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is embracing his wife, Cilia Flores. Photo by Yonhap News.

On January 3 (local time), CNN in the United States highlighted Cilia Flores, the wife of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Flores, who is six years older than Maduro, is regarded as a political elite who has directly navigated the core of Venezuelan power, even before becoming the president's spouse.

Unlike Maduro, who began his political career as a union leader after working as a bus driver, Flores entered politics as a lawyer. In 1992, when Hugo Chavez failed in a coup and was imprisoned, Flores served as his attorney, earning Chavez's trust and becoming a close confidante. It was during this time that she naturally became close to Maduro, who was then a key labor ally of Chavez.

After Chavez came to power in 1999, both Maduro and Flores secured positions at the center of power. Notably, Flores served as Speaker of the National Assembly from 2006 to 2011 and as Attorney General from 2012 to 2013. By holding the highest offices in both the legislative and judicial branches, she solidified the foundation of the Chavez regime.

Following Chavez's sudden death in 2013, Maduro won the subsequent by-election, and three months later, in July of that year, Maduro and Flores were married. Maduro expressed his deep trust in Flores by calling her not the "first lady" but his "first combatant."

Even after Maduro took office, Flores is known to have wielded significant influence over state affairs. For this reason, since the first Trump administration, she has been subject to U.S. government sanctions alongside President Maduro.

The U.S. military launched a ground operation in Venezuela, arresting and detaining President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Photo captured from social media (SNS).

Meanwhile, on this day, the U.S. military launched a ground operation in Venezuela, arresting and detaining President Nicolas Maduro and his wife. Previously, during the first Trump administration in March 2020, President Maduro had been indicted on charges including drug trafficking and money laundering, and he is expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan next week. The U.S. government maintains that Maduro and his associates smuggled thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States in connection with the former Colombian rebel group FARC and drug cartels, both designated as terrorist organizations by the U.S. Maduro and Flores are expected to appear as early as January 5 at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on charges including conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism.

After the U.S. military attack on Venezuela, President Trump stated at a press conference held at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida that "the United States will govern Venezuela" until an appropriate transfer of power takes place. However, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez emphasized, "There is only one president in Venezuela, and that is Maduro," and called for the release of President Maduro and Mrs. Flores.