Overview
- President Donald Trump said U.S. forces conducted a large-scale strike in Venezuela and flew Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores out of the country.
- Multiple outlets cited unnamed U.S. officials reporting the detentions, while Venezuelan authorities have not confirmed the claims and are seeking proof of life.
- Iran denounced the reported action as a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty, and the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá issued travel advisories urging Americans to avoid Venezuela.
- Flores is a lawyer and former National Assembly president who has emphasized her political role, preferring the title “Primera Combatiente” rather than first lady.
- In 2015 two nephews she raised were arrested by the DEA and later convicted in New York on cocaine trafficking charges, and the U.S. Treasury sanctioned her in 2018 as a key figure in alleged corruption networks.