First footage of Maduro's wife's arrest emerges, but who is Celia Flores?
2026-01-04 18:16:50
TiranaPost
The first images of Celia Flores have been released following her arrest by US authorities, along with her husband, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. In the released video, Flores appears wearing a hoodie, with her arms crossed over her chest, while being escorted by armed agents under heavy security. Behind her, Maduro is seen getting out of a military vehicle, surrounded by federal forces.
Who is Celia Flores?
Celia Flores was born on October 15, 1956, in Tinacillo, a small town in northwestern Venezuela. She came from a large and extremely poor family. She was one of six children and grew up in difficult conditions, in a modest home. Her father worked as a traveling salesman in the area.
After the family moved to Caracas, Flores focused seriously on education, managing to enroll in law school. It was there that he met Michael Moreno, who years later would become Minister of Justice in the government of Nicolas Maduro.
Initially, she had no apparent political ambitions. She worked as a stenographer at a police station, recording testimony during interrogations. During that period, she married for the first time, officer Walter Gavindia Rodríguez, with whom she had three children.
Her political engagement began after the violent riots in Caracas in 1989. She became close to the movement of Hugo Chavez, whom she saw as a heroic figure, and became involved in supporting him after the failed coup attempt, which ended with Chavez's arrest and imprisonment.
Over the years, Flores became part of Chavez's inner circle and followed him closely on his path to power. The relationship between them did not remain just political, but also turned into a personal one, at a time when the two were on the verge of divorce.
In 2007, Celia Flores was elected as a deputy and took over as speaker of the National Assembly. One of her first decisions was to appoint dozens of relatives and friends to government positions, prompting accusations of nepotism, which she ignored.
Even reports of her family's luxurious lifestyle, including private jet travel, did not seem to shake her political position.
During the final years of Hugo Chavez's rule, Flores served as justice minister, while Nicolas Maduro was vice president. After Chavez's death in 2013, Maduro assumed the presidency, and Flores remained at his side in the center of power. The couple married in July of that year, cementing their personal and political bond at the head of the Venezuelan state.
