New Indictment Reveals Maduro’s Alleged Drug Trafficking Operations
A recent criminal complaint against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wives has shed light on their alleged use of diplomatic planes to smuggle drug money from Mexico to Venezuela. The indictment also hints at a long-standing connection with the Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas, now known as Cartel del Noreste.
On Saturday morning, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the charges, right after special forces apprehended Maduro during a raid in Venezuela.
While the indictment mainly targets Maduro, it also implicates his wife, key military ally Diosdado Cabello, and Hector Ruthenford Guerrero Flores, a leader of the terrorist organization Torren de Aragua. Court documents suggest intricate business relationships among prominent Venezuelan figures, Colombian terrorist factions, and Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and Los Zetas.
According to U.S. prosecutors, between 2006 and 2008, Maduro, while serving as foreign minister, sold diplomatic passports to drug traffickers, helping them smuggle drug profits from Mexico under the guise of diplomatic activity. Additionally, Maduro allegedly aimed to provide diplomatic immunity for civilian planes connected to drug trafficking, allowing unrestricted flights between the two nations. Notably, the planes weren’t transporting any official diplomatic goods; the indictment states they were merely carrying cash from drug deals.
Federal authorities also accused Celia Flores de Maduro, the President’s wife, of taking substantial bribes in 2007 to facilitate a meeting with then-Venezuela’s top drug enforcement officer, Nestor Reverol Torres. As part of this arrangement, Torres supposedly received $100,000 for each drug shipment, agreeing to share part of the bribe with Maduro’s wife, as noted in the indictment.
Aside from this, the indictment claims that in 2006, Maduro and his family coordinated the transport of 5.5 tons of cocaine by air from Venezuela to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. These drugs had been originally seized by Venezuelan authorities and then loaded onto aircraft by the military.
Furthermore, from 2003 to 2011, allegations suggest that Diosdado Cabello collaborated with both the Colombian cartel and Los Zetas to ferry multiple tons of cocaine via Venezuela to Mexican ports. It’s been asserted that these drugs, often shielded by Cabello and high-ranking Venezuelan military officials known as “the generals,” were transported in shipping containers that could hold up to 20 tons of cocaine at times.
Since 2011, federal prosecutors allege involvement by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, the former head of the Sinaloa cartel, who reportedly funded multiple drug labs in Colombia. These drugs were said to be transported to Venezuela, receiving military protection before making their way to Mexico and ultimately to the United States.
