Cilia Flores

Some Lesser Known Facts About Cilia Flores

• Cilia Flores was born into a lower middle-class family.

• She rose to national prominence in the early 1990s when she worked as the lead lawyer on Hugo Chávez’s legal defense team.

• After Chávez’s failed coup attempt in 1992, Flores played a key role in the legal efforts that ultimately led to his release from prison in 1994. As Chávez’s movement expanded, Flores became part of its core leadership.

• Cilia served as chair of the Political Command of the Bolivarian Revolution and was also a member of the Tactical Command for the Revolution, which handled much of Chávez’s political work.

• Cilia Flores was first married to Walter Ramón Gavidia. The duo, however, later divorced.

• In the 1990s, Cilia began a romantic relationship with politician Nicolás Maduro while she was serving as Hugo Chávez’s lawyer. They continued their relationship for years and got married in 2013.

  

• In 2000, Flores was elected as a deputy to the National Assembly of Venezuela.

• In August 2006, Cilia replaced Nicolás Maduro as Speaker of the National Assembly after he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.

• Cilia became the first woman in Venezuela’s history to serve as President of the National Assembly. She held the role from 2006 to 2011.

• On 10 January 2007, as head of the National Assembly, Flores swore Hugo Chávez in after his 2006 election victory.

• After Nicolás Maduro won the 2013 presidential election against Henrique Capriles, Cilia Flores became the First Lady of Venezuela.

  

• While serving as First Lady, Flores contested the 2015 parliamentary elections as a Great Patriotic Pole candidate, stating she would defend social rights and uphold the gains of the Bolivarian Revolution if elected.

• In 2017, Flores was elected as a member of Venezuela’s Constituent Assembly.

• Over time, reports emerged and claimed that Flores gave key legal jobs to family members and people loyal to her, so important decisions were controlled by her office.

• Critics often say that Flores influenced Venezuela’s courts to support the government, and for more than 20 years the judiciary has not ruled against the Venezuelan state.

• Former prosecutor Zair Mundaray has described Cilia as a powerful figure linked to corruption.

• In January 2026, the U.S. charged Flores, Maduro, and their son with being involved in drug trafficking.

• Later that year, Donald Trump announced that Flores and Maduro were captured by U.S. forces in Venezuela.