When US forces conducted a night raid on the Venezuelan capital Caracas, they didn't just drag President Nicolás Maduro from his compound and put him on a boat to New York - they took his wife too.
Cilia Flores, 69, has long been seen as one of the most powerful figures in Venezuela, a political operator in her own right who for decades has shaped the country's fortunes.
After years of leading Venezuela's National Assembly, she helped consolidate her husband's grip on power after his 2013 presidential election victory.
As First Lady, she was dubbed First Warrior by Maduro. However, she publicly took a backseat in her role, presenting a family-oriented image of what critics label a brutal regime.
Flores hosted a TV show, Con Cilia en Familia, and made occasional appearances on state television to dance salsa with her husband. Behind-the-scenes, she is believed to be one of Maduro's key advisers and an architect of his political survival.
She has faced allegations of corruption and nepotism, with her family members found guilty in U.S. courts of cocaine smuggling. Now, she faces drug trafficking and weapons charges in a New York court alongside her husband.
Flores met Maduro in the early 1990s when, as an up-and-coming lawyer, she defended the plotters of a failed coup attempt, including Hugo Chávez. Her fateful connection with her future husband solidified their intertwined destinies in Venezuelan politics.
After Maduro's narrow win in the subsequent presidential election following Chávez's death in 2013, Flores' political influence continued to grow.
Despite her perceived power, her background is tainted with accusations of corruption and human rights violations, leading critics to label her as part of a corrupt regime. She is expected to appear in court shortly.
