Celia Flores, who kidnapped together with her husband, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, is a lawyer by education. The first lady Venezuela it became on March 5, 2013.
She is a member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and played a key role in Venezuelan politics, especially during the period of the Bolivarian Revolution started by the late President of Venezuela and Maduro predecessor Hugo Chavez.
As first lady, Flores is known for her strong support for Maduro, including public appearances and a role in the government. At the same time, she faced numerous accusations of corruption, nepotism and connection with drug trafficking.
She was born in a lower-middle-class family, with modest economic resources, which she often emphasized in her speeches, which aimed to connect her with poor people Venezuelan society.
She studied law and became a lawyer, focusing on the defense of political activists. Her career began in private practice, but quickly moved into the political arena.
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Political career
She distinguished herself in 1992, when she led the defense team of Hugo Chávez after his failed coup attempt. That defense was successful, and Chavez was released from prison in 1994, which significantly contributed to her meteoric rise in Chavez's circle.
In 2000, Flores was elected to the National Assembly and, after winning a second term, in 2006 she became the first woman to preside over the legislature.
Her critics, including former prosecutor Zair Mundaraj, accused her of appointing relatives and loyalists to key judicial positions, leading to politicization judiciary. As evidence for such claims, they cited the fact that the courts have not issued a single verdict against the Venezuelan state in the past two decades, which indicates corruption and a lack of independence.
Photo: AP Photo/Ariana CubillosCilia Flores and Nicolas Maduro greet supporters after Maduro's inauguration in 2025
Marriage to Nicolas Maduro
She met Maduro in the 1990s during the legal proceedings against Chávez, when he was her assistant. They dated for a long time before getting married in July 2013. She was previously married to Walter Ramon Gavidia, with whom she has a son, and she also adopted her late sister's son.
As first lady she was active in supporting Maduro, often appearing with him at public events and in to the media. She is known for her role in the government, where she advised the ruling party for decades. The opposition accuses her of being "Lady Macbeth," that is, of acting as an influential shadow figure who helped build Chávez's revolutionary project and supported Maduro's authoritarian measures, including the suppression of opposition protests.
For example, during the 2017 crisis, it supported the formation of a Constituent Assembly that bypassed the opposition-led National Assembly, which the opposition saw as a coup. She also led TV show in which she promoted government policies, and Maduro publicly praised her as a key ally "in the fight against imperialism." Her support for Maduro was particularly visible during the sanctions and crises, where she accused the opposition and foreign powers of destabilizing the country.
Photo: AP Photo/Ariana CubillosA supporter of the Maduro regime wears a hat with dolls from the TV show "Super Bigot", based on President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, during a protest demanding their release from US custody.
Violations of the law and accusations of the opposition
Accusations against her in Venezuela and abroad are numerous, and they concern violations of the law, corruption and nepotism.
She is accused of employing numerous relatives in the National Assembly - reports put 16 family members in one office. The relatives were removed in 2012, but were given other positions in the government. She denied this and called the allegations a "smear campaign", claiming that her relatives were promoted on merit and that she was proud of her family. Opposition saw it as a classic example of corruption and nepotism.
Her two nephews were arrested in Haiti in 2015 for trying to transport 800 kilograms of cocaine to New York. The following year, they were sentenced to 18 years in prison in the US for drug trafficking in order to maintain family power. Flores accused SAD for kidnapping a nephew and attacking Venezuela's sovereignty, and the opposition used it to accuse Flores and Maduro of supporting drug cartels.
She is accused of looting state resources and the family's unexplained wealth, including luxury homes in the capital, Caracas. Her son, on a low official salary, reportedly traveled on private jets to expensive destinations in the US and Europe in 2015 and 2016, at a cost of $20.000 per flight. The opposition claims that this is evidence of trade-based corruption narcotics.
After she and Maduro were kidnapped by US special forces, Flores was charged in the US with conspiracy to export cocaine, conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and other charges related to drug and arms trafficking. The indictment includes her, Maduro and their son. Maduro defended Flores, claiming her only crime was being his wife. The opposition in Venezuela sees this as confirmation of longstanding accusations of authoritarian rule and criminality.
Flores is under sanctions from Colombia, where she has been barred from entering since January 2019; of Canada since 2018, for supporting corruption and endangering democracy; Panama since 2018, due to money laundering and the USA since 2018, due to looting of state resources.
The opposition, including a former attorney general, accuses Flores of being a "fundamental figure for corruption in Venezuela" and of supporting Maduro's crackdown on the opposition, including arrests and crackdowns on protests. Maduro described the accusations as part of an "imperialist campaign" against Venezuela.
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