Was Cilia Flores the real brains of the Maduro regime?
This Is Why
Sky News
4.0 • 552 Ratings
🗓️ 9 January 2026
⏱️ 16 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Cilia Flores was one of the most powerful figures in Venezuela. She and Nicolas Maduro met through their close connection to Hugo Chavez and once Maduro succeeded him as president, she helped him maintain his more than a decade-long grip on power.
Flores has been accused of corruption, nepotism, and links to organised crime and has been sanctioned by the US and Canada.
Niall is joined by Venezuelan-American journalist Jose Enrique Arrioja, who is the managing editor of Americas Quarterly and has covered politics in Latin America for over two decades. They discuss why Flores was such a central figure to the Maduro regime.
Producer: Natalie Ktena
Editor: Wendy Parker
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Sky News, the full story first. |
| 0:09.0 | Coming up, Venezuela's president is in US custody awaiting trial, |
| 0:14.0 | but so too is the woman seen as the power behind Nicholas Maduro's throne, |
| 0:18.0 | his wife Celia Flores. So, who is she? |
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| 1:21.8 | may apply. On Friday the 3rd of January, as the rest of us were taking down the decorations and having |
| 1:29.8 | just one more chocolate, the United States was getting busy. |
| 1:33.9 | In a raid either audacious or illegal, depending on your politics, Donald Trump did exactly |
| 1:38.7 | what he promised. |
| 1:40.5 | Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro was seized and taken to the states to face trial. |
| 1:45.5 | Precious few tears were shed at his toppling. |
... |
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