US Edition‘Far more than a first lady’: Who is Cilia Flores, the powerbroker captured alongside Maduro?
Cilia Flores, wielding vast judicial influence and accused of corruption, is indicted alongside Maduro and their son for drug trafficking, U.S. authorities allege.
- Saturday, a federal indictment was unsealed charging Cilia Flores, Nicolás Maduro and their son in the Southern District of New York, Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
- Far more than a first lady, Cilia Flores built extraordinary influence over decades, shaping Venezuela's judiciary and embedding loyalists while her family amassed vast wealth in Caracas.
- The indictment includes weapons counts and penalties under U.S. code 841 of up to life imprisonment and a $10 million fine, and two of her nephews were arrested in 2015.
- Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and Cilia Flores `will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts`, and they were flown out after capture.
- Analysts say Flores has effectively co-governed Venezuela and commands both respect and fear within chavismo, while her international meetings with Vladimir Putin highlight her global prominence.
25 Articles
25 Articles
Nicolás Maduro and wife Cilia Flores face arraignment in Manhattan federal court Jan. 5 after being brought up on serious charges.
He married the President of Venezuela in 2013 and is called upon by his own Maduro of 'Cilita' and 'the first fighter'.Celia Flores is 69 years old and has since the 90s, which is said to be supported by 'chavismo'.
The once powerful lawyer Flores acted out of the background during Maduro's presidency. Now she is also in custody in the USA.
arrested along with Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, in the first hours of the Saturday, was his wife and top adviser, Celia Flores, who was taken from bed with her husband from the United States. The husband was quickly expelled from the country to be judged in the U.S. under drug charges.
Arrested by the United States with her husband, she was the lawyer who defended Chávez from the accusation of a coup d'état.
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