“They are husband and wife, but there is also the political component because their political futures<\/a> are tied together as well,” the Council on Foreign Relations fellow added.<\/p>\n MADURO GAVE CAR INTERVIEW ABOUT POSSIBLE TRUMP OLIVE BRANCH DAYS BEFORE HE WAS CAPTURED BY US<\/a><\/p>\n Venezuela’s President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro is being held at MDC Brooklyn. (Juan Barreto\/AFP via Getty Images and \u00a0Selcuk Acar\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Maduro, 63, has been charged with four counts: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.<\/p>\n Flores, 69, has been charged with three counts: cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.<\/p>\n Flores first gained attention in 1994 when, as a lawyer, she defended Hugo Ch\u00e1vez after his failed 1992 coup attempt.<\/p>\n After Ch\u00e1vez was elected, she sat in the National Assembly in 2000 before serving as president of the National Assembly \u2013 succeeding Maduro \u2013 and later as Venezuela\u2019s attorney general from 2012 to 2013 under both men.<\/p>\n UN AMBASSADOR WALTZ DEFENDS US CAPTURE OF MADURO AHEAD OF SECURITY COUNCIL MEETING<\/a><\/p>\n Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro gestures next to his wife Cilia Flores as they leave the Capitolio, home of the National Assembly, after taking the oath during the presidential inauguration in Caracas on Jan. 10, 2025. (Juan Barreto\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n “Cilia is very politically savvy and has been one of the key insiders in constructing and carrying forward Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s revolutionary project,” said Vigil. “She\u2019s very much tied to the Chavista movement<\/a>, which is at a low point but likely to survive this crisis.\u00a0Venezuela\u2019s future will depend on whether there is a transition to democracy or whether a Chavista stays in power.”<\/p>\n “Cilia Flores is one of the original Chavistas because she was part of Hugo Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s inner circle in the early \u201990s before he became president,” she added.<\/p>\n Flores was introduced to Maduro while working closely with Ch\u00e1vez. At the time, Maduro described her as having a “fiery character,” according to Reuters.<\/a><\/p>\n The pair did not marry until nearly two decades after first meeting, after Maduro was elected president in 2013.<\/p>\n WHAT IS DELTA FORCE AND WHAT DO THEY DO? INSIDE THE ELITE US ARMY UNIT THAT CAPTURED MADURO<\/a><\/p>\n Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores arrive at the National Assembly for his swearing-in ceremony for a third term in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 10, 2025. (Matias Delacroix, File\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n According to reports<\/a>, critics dubbed Flores “Lady Macbeth.”<\/p>\n “Since Maduro took over in Venezuela, she has been an influential advisor, and more behind the scenes than during the Ch\u00e1vez years, but nonetheless a very influential political operative,” Vigil explained.<\/p>\n “Her family members have been implicated in different criminal activity, including U.S. crimes, and this includes two of her nephews,” she added.<\/p>\n Flores\u2019 influence extended into Maduro\u2019s efforts to maintain control after the opposition won a supermajority in the National Assembly in 2015.<\/p>\n Instead of allowing the opposition-led legislature to function, Maduro moved to create a parallel body that assumed the legislature\u2019s powers.<\/p>\n “There was also her role in the Maduro government, and particularly her role in his effort to undermine the democratically elected 2015 National Assembly,” Vigil said.<\/p>\n TRUMP REVEALS VENEZUELA\u2019S MADURO WAS CAPTURED IN \u2018FORTRESS\u2019-LIKE HOUSE: \u2018HE GOT BUM RUSHED SO FAST\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Government supporters display posters of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, right, and former President Hugo Ch\u00e1vez in downtown Caracas, Venezuela, on Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026, after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country. (Matias Delacroix\/AP)<\/p>\n “Cilia Flores was part of that effort, and that was highlighted when she was sanctioned by the U.S. government<\/a> in 2018,” Vigil said. “My sense is that Cilia was not vying to be president or vying to hold some sort of official role, she already had significant influence.”<\/p>\n “At some level, I think she believed that Maduro was best positioned to continue Hugo Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s revolutionary project,” she added, “and that continuing this project was important to her.”<\/p>\n President Donald Trump addressed Maduro\u2019s capture<\/a> this week, warning of serious consequences for the Venezuelan leader and signaling a hardline approach toward the regime.<\/p>\n MADURO’S PRESUMED SUCCESSOR, VENEZUELAN VICE PRESIDENT DELCY RODRIGUEZ, IS POSSIBLY IN RUSSIA: REPORT<\/a><\/p>\n As previously reported by Fox News Digital<\/a>, Trump said the U.S. would temporarily govern Venezuela<\/a> “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”\u00a0<\/p>\n But Vigil highlights the president did not publicly lay out plans for Flores. “President Trump didn\u2019t mention anything about her yesterday, so it\u2019s not clear what the plan is for Cilia,” Vigil said.<\/p>\n “Secretary Rubio said Maduro turned down generous offers to leave, but also didn\u2019t mention Cilia, why she was taken with Maduro, and what role she played in these negotiations. Cilia was also not indicted in 2020 when Maduro was originally indicted,” Vigil said.<\/p>\n “President Trump\u2019s rhetoric against Maduro for the last four plus months hasn\u2019t included Cilia,” she explained.<\/p>\n On Sunday, Rubio said in an interview with ABC<\/a>: “I encourage everyone \u2013 I know it\u2019s Sunday, people are busy.\u00a0 But the indictments have now been unsealed.\u00a0 People should read this indictment.\u00a0 They should read this indictment.\u00a0 They should read what this man did for 15 \u2013 the last 15 years of his life against the United States \u2013 him and his wife.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n Attorney General Pam Bondi<\/a> also echoed that message on social media, writing on X that Maduro and Flores will “soon face the full wrath<\/a> of American justice on American soil in American courts,” and calling them “two alleged international narco traffickers.”<\/p>\n Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! 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