By Zoila Palma: Former Venezuelan military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal Barrios has issued explosive accusations against President Nicolás Maduro’s government, claiming the regime oversees drug-trafficking networks, deploys criminal gangs and conducts espionage inside the United States.
Carvajal, a once-powerful general who pleaded guilty in the U.S. to narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, made the claims in a letter released from federal prison and addressed to President Donald Trump and “the People of the United States.”
The letter, first published by the Dallas Express, portrays the Venezuelan state as a criminal enterprise whose activities pose a direct threat to U.S. national security, Miami Herald reports.
In the letter, Carvajal alleges that top Venezuelan officials have long operated the “Cartel of the Suns,” a military-run drug-smuggling network that he says was designed to “weaponize” narcotics against the United States.
He claims the scheme was developed with guidance from Cuba and support from groups such as Colombia’s FARC, the ELN and Hezbollah, and asserts that the Maduro government provided weapons, passports and sanctuary for these factions. Carvajal also accuses the regime of facilitating the spread of the violent gang Tren de Aragua throughout Latin America and into U.S. cities, echoing recent U.S. law-enforcement concerns about the group’s rapid expansion.
Beyond narcotics and gang activity, Carvajal alleges that Venezuela, working alongside Cuban and Russian intelligence services, has conducted long-running covert operations targeting the United States.
He claims Russian operatives proposed intercepting U.S. communications through South American undersea cables and that Cuban spies have infiltrated U.S. naval bases and political spheres for decades.
According to Carvajal, some Venezuelan intelligence assets in the United States continue to operate under the guise of opposition activists, while American diplomats and intelligence officers were allegedly recruited to assist Caracas in maintaining power.
Carvajal’s letter arrives as the U.S. military intensifies operations targeting drug-trafficking networks in the Caribbean, including a large deployment led by the USS Gerald R. Ford.
It also comes during a period of heightened pressure on Maduro, who faces a $50 million U.S. reward for his capture following a 2020 federal indictment accusing him of leading a narco-terrorist state.
Carvajal, once a central figure in Chávez and Maduro’s intelligence apparatus before defecting, remains in U.S. custody awaiting sentencing on charges that carry the possibility of life imprisonment.
The post International News: Ex-Venezuelan spy chief accuses Maduro Government of running drug, gang and espionage networks in U.S. appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Zoila Palma: Former Venezuelan military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal Barrios has issued explosive accusations against President Nicolás Maduro’s government, claiming the regime oversees drug-trafficking networks, deploys criminal gangs and conducts espionage inside the United States. Carvajal, a once-powerful general who pleaded guilty in the U.S. to narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, made the claims in a letter
The post International News: Ex-Venezuelan spy chief accuses Maduro Government of running drug, gang and espionage networks in U.S. appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.