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President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, face a “worst-case scenario” as a married couple entrenched in Venezuelan politics and now detained in the U.S. ahead of their Jan. 5 arraignment, according to a national security expert.
Maduro and Flores, who have been married for 13 years, were arrested in Caracas during a nighttime operation on Jan. 3 and transported to U.S. custody, where federal prosecutors have brought criminal charges against both, officials said.
“This is a worst-case scenario for them, not being in power but in custody of the U.S. government,” Roxanna Vigil told Fox News Digital.
“They are husband and wife, but there is also the political component because their political futures are tied together as well,” the Council on Foreign Relations fellow added.
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Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro in a picture in front of MDC Brooklyn. (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images and Selcuk Acar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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.
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.
Flores first gained attention in 1994 when, as a lawyer, she defended Hugo Chávez after his failed 1992 coup attempt.
After Chávez was elected, she sat in the National Assembly in 2000 before serving as president of the National Assembly – succeeding Maduro – and later as Venezuela’s attorney general from 2012 to 2013 under both men.
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Venezuelan President Nicolás 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)
“Cilia is very politically savvy and has been one of the key insiders in constructing and carrying forward Chávez’s revolutionary project,” said Vigil. “She’s very much tied to the Chavista movement, which is at a low point but likely to survive this crisis. Venezuela’s future will depend on whether there is a transition to democracy or whether a Chavista stays in power.”
“Cilia Flores is one of the original Chavistas because she was part of Hugo Chávez’s inner circle in the early ’90s before he became president,” she added.
Flores was introduced to Maduro while working closely with Chávez. At the time, Maduro described her as having a “fiery character,” according to Reuters.
The pair did not marry until nearly two decades after first meeting, after Maduro was elected president in 2013.
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Venezuelan President Nicolás 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)
According to reports, critics dubbed Flores “Lady Macbeth.”
“Since Maduro took over in Venezuela, she has been an influential advisor, and more behind the scenes than during the Chávez years, but nonetheless a very influential political operative,” Vigil explained.
“Her family members have been implicated in different criminal activity, including U.S. crimes, and this includes two of her nephews,” she added.
Flores’ influence extended into Maduro’s efforts to maintain control after the opposition won a supermajority in the National Assembly in 2015.
Instead of allowing the opposition-led legislature to function, Maduro moved to create a parallel body that assumed the legislature’s powers.
“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.
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Government supporters display posters of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, right, and former President Hugo Chávez 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)
“Cilia Flores was part of that effort, and that was highlighted when she was sanctioned by the U.S. government 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.”
“At some level, I think she believed that Maduro was best positioned to continue Hugo Chávez’s revolutionary project,” she added, “and that continuing this project was important to her.”
President Trump addressed Maduro’s capture this week, warning of serious consequences for the Venezuelan leader and signaling a hardline approach toward the regime.
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As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Trump said the U.S. would temporarily govern Venezuela “until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.”
But Vigil highlights the president did not publicly lay out plans for Flores. “President Trump didn’t mention anything about her yesterday, so it’s not clear what the plan is for Cilia,” Vigil said.
“Secretary Rubio said Maduro turned down generous offers to leave, but also didn’t 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.
“President Trump’s rhetoric against Maduro for the last four plus months hasn’t included Cilia,” she explained.
On Sunday, Rubio said in an interview with ABC: “I encourage everyone – I know it’s Sunday, people are busy. But the indictments have now been unsealed. People should read this indictment. They should read this indictment. They should read what this man did for 15 – the last 15 years of his life against the United States – him and his wife.”
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Attorney General Pam Bondi also echoed that message on social media, writing on X that Maduro and Flores will “soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts,” and calling them “two alleged international narco traffickers.”