India, Jan. 3 -- President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that US forces carried out a large-scale strike in Venezuela and flew out President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. These claims remain unverified and were swiftly rejected by Caracas. Even as the claims remain unsubstantiated, they have once again placed Flores under an international spotlight as one of the most powerful figures within Venezuela's ruling elite.

Born on October 15, 1956, in Tinaquillo, a small town in Venezuela's Cojedes state, Flores grew up as the youngest of six children in a family facing significant economic hardship. Seeking better opportunities, her family later moved to Caracas, where she pursued higher education at a private university, studyin...