President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are staring down what one national security expert called a “worst-case scenario” after the longtime power couple of Venezuelan politics was hauled into U.S. custody ahead of a Jan. 5 arraignment.
Maduro and Flores, married for 12 years and deeply intertwined politically, were arrested in Caracas during a nighttime operation Jan. 3 and transferred to U.S. custody, officials said. Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against both.
“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,” added Vigil, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Maduro, 63, is charged with four counts, including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
Flores, 69, faces three counts: cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
Flores first rose to prominence in 1994, when she worked as a lawyer defending Hugo Chávez following his failed 1992 coup attempt.
After Chávez later won election, Flores entered the National Assembly in 2000. She went on to serve as president of the National Assembly, succeeding Maduro, and later held the post of attorney general from 2012 to 2013 under both men.
REPORT: Unlikely Final Straw Pushed Trump To Authorize Maduro Raid
In the weeks leading up to the capture of Maduro and his wife, an unlikely final straw led President Donald Trump to believe the now deposed leader was daring the U.S. to make a move.
Prior to Maduro’s capture in the early hours of January 3, 2026, Trump had authorized a significant military build-up in the region and had launched several airstrikes on… KEEP READING HERE
