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 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. But in that role, she publicly took a backseat - presenting a more family-oriented face to what critics say was a brutal regime.
She hosted a TV show, Con Cilia en Familia, and made occasional appearances on state television to dance salsa with her husband. But behind-the-scenes, she is thought to have been one of Maduro's key advisers and an architect of his political survival.
Flores has faced allegations of corruption and nepotism, and in recent years her family members have been found guilty in US courts of cocaine smuggling.
She will now face drug trafficking and weapons charges in a New York court, along with her husband.
Flores met Maduro in the early 1990s when she defended the plotters of the failed 1992 coup attempt, including Hugo Chávez, the future president. It was during those years that she and Maduro’s paths crossed; he was a security guard for Chávez at the time.
I met Cilia in life, Maduro recounted. She was the lawyer for several imprisoned patriotic military officers. But she was also Commander Chávez's lawyer and, well, being Commander Chávez's lawyer in prison... tough.
From then, both their fates became linked to Chávez and his political movement, known as Chavismo.
After Chávez won the presidency in 1998, Flores quickly rose through the political ranks, joining the National Assembly in 2000 and becoming its leader in 2006, where she led a virtually one-party parliament.
When Chávez died in 2013, Flores stood firmly behind Maduro as he narrowly won the subsequent presidential election.
Months later, the couple married, solidifying a relationship in which they raised children from previous marriages: three of hers and one of his.
To her critics, Flores represents part of a deeply corrupt and human-rights-abusing regime; she has been described as a power behind the throne, remaining largely in the shadows despite her influence.
Throughout her career, she has faced numerous corruption allegations. In 2012, she was accused of nepotism for influencing employment of family members, to which she publicly defended her family ties.
In the infamous Narco nephews case, her nephews were arrested in a US sting operation attempting to smuggle cocaine, which Flores claimed was a kidnapping by US authorities.
Recent sanctions have been placed on her family due to their involvement in drug trafficking activities, prompting scrutiny from the US government amidst the drug crisis affecting its citizens.
Flores is expected to appear in court soon, marking a significant turn in her once powerful political legacy.
