Latest news with #JuanGuaido
The Guardian
12 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Former Venezuelan intelligence chief pleads guilty to US drug charges
A former top Venezuelan military intelligence chief has pleaded guilty in a Manhattan federal court to narco-terrorism conspiracy, drug-trafficking and weapons charges, piling further US pressure on the government of Nicolás Maduro. Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, AKA 'El Pollo' or 'The Chicken', was the director of Venezuela's military intelligence under presidents Hugo Chávez and Maduro. On Wednesday, days before his trial was set to begin, he pleaded guilty to four federal counts, related to accusations that he helped lead a drug-trafficking group within the Venezuelan government. 'Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios was once one of the most powerful men in Venezuela. For years, he and other officials … used cocaine as a weapon – flooding New York and other American cities with poison,' said US attorney Jay Clayton. Carvajal turned against Maduro in 2019 and supported a failed coup that year led by the opposition leader Juan Guaidó. Maduro stayed in power but the Trump administration at the time recognized Guaidó as the legitimate leader of the country. Despite his opposition to Maduro, Carvajal was already under investigation by the US government: in 2020, the justice department released an indictment against him and other top Venezuelan leaders – including Maduro himself – accusing them of narco-terrorism crimes and of running the Cartel of the Suns. He was eventually extradited to the US from Spain in 2023. The US indictment alleges that from 1999 through 2020, Maduro, Carvajal and top government officials 'participated in a corrupt and violent narco-terrorism conspiracy' between the Cartel of the Suns and the former Colombian rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), to traffic cocaine to the US. The Farc was previously classified as a terrorist organization by the US government before most of its members laid down their weapons in a historic 2016 peace process. Although the US government claims the Cartel of the Suns is a structured and government-run drug-trafficking group, analysts claim that it is more of a 'network of networks' of various drug-trafficking groups protected by elements within the Venezuelan state. The Miami Herald, citing unnamed sources, reported that Carvajal was potentially collaborating with the US government to provide information about Maduro's drug-trafficking activities, the Tren de Aragua gang and Venezuela's ties to Iran. Details of his potential collaboration may be revealed during his sentencing hearing in October. He is facing life in prison for each count. Co-defendants in the Cartel of the Suns case include Maduro, the Venezuelan interior minister and two former Farc leaders –including one who was killed in a mysterious operation by the Colombian military. As one of the last Latin America-related acts of the Biden administration this January, the US government raised its bounty for Maduro and his interior minister to $25m, related to the narco-terrorism case. One of Carvajal's co-defendants was sentenced last year to more than 21 years in prison. Cliver Alcalá , a former Venezuelan general who opposed Maduro, pleaded guilty in 2023 for providing support to the Farc. This case has the potential to uncover details of US operations in Venezuela, including information about alleged US-backed attempts to oust Maduro. In a letter to the New York court, Alcalá's attorneys have claimed that the Central Intelligence Agency, Drug Enforcement Administration, and national security council were aware of a fumbled 2020 plot to overthrow Maduro. That failed plot, deemed the Bay of Piglets, was foiled by Venezuelan security forces. Government officials arrested a number Venezuelan dissidents and two American former Green Berets, working as mercenaries for Silvercorp, a US security firm.
The Guardian
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Former Venezuelan intelligence chief pleads guilty to US drug charges
A former top Venezuelan military intelligence chief has pleaded guilty in a Manhattan federal court to narco-terrorism conspiracy, drug-trafficking and weapons charges, piling further US pressure on the government of Nicolás Maduro. Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, AKA 'El Pollo' or 'The Chicken,' was the director of Venezuela's military intelligence under presidents Hugo Chávez and Maduro. On Wednesday, days before his trial was set to begin, he pleaded guilty to four federal counts, related to accusations that he helped lead a drug-trafficking group within the Venezuelan government. 'Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios was once one of the most powerful men in Venezuela. For years, he and other officials… used cocaine as a weapon — flooding New York and other American cities with poison,' said US attorney Jay Clayton. Carvajal turned against Maduro in 2019 and supported a failed coup that year led by opposition leader Juan Guaidó. Maduro stayed in power but the Trump administration at the time recognized Guadió as the legitimate leader of the country. Despite his opposition to Maduro, Carvajal was already under investigation by the US government: in 2020, the justice department released an indictment against him and other top Venezuelan leaders – including Maduro, himself – accusing them of narco-terrorism crimes and of running the Cartel of the Suns. He was eventually extradited to the US from Spain in 2023. The US indictment alleges that from 1999 through 2020, Maduro, Carvajal and top government officials 'participated in a corrupt and violent narco-terrorism conspiracy' between the Cartel of the Suns and the former Colombian rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), to traffic cocaine to the US. Farc was previously classified as a terrorist organization by the US government before most of its members laid down their weapons in a historic 2016 peace process. Although the US government claims the Cartel of the Suns is a structured and government-run drug-trafficking group, analysts claim that it is more of a 'network of networks' of various drug-trafficking groups protected by elements within the Venezuelan state. The Miami Herald, citing unnamed sources, reported that Carvajal is potentially collaborating with the US government to provide information about Maduro's drug-trafficking activities, the Tren de Aragua gang and Venezuela's ties to Iran. Details of his potential collaboration may be revealed during his sentencing hearing in October. He is facing life in prison for each count. Co-defendants in the Cartel of the Suns case include Maduro, the Venezuelan interior minister and two former Farc leaders –including one who was killed in a mysterious operation by the Colombian military. As one of the last Latin America-related acts of the Biden administration this January, the US government raised its bounty for Maduro and his interior minister to $25m, related to the narco-terrorism case. One of Carvajal's co-defendants was sentenced last year to more than 21 years in prison. Cliver Alcalá , a former Venezuelan general who opposed Maduro, pleaded guilty in 2023 for providing support to Farc. This case has the potential to uncover details of US operations in Venezuela, including information about alleged US-backed attempts to oust Maduro. In a letter to the New York court, Alcalá's attorneys have claimed that the Central Intelligence Agency, Drug Enforcement Administration, and National Security Council were aware of a fumbled 2020 plot to overthrow Maduro. That failed plot, deemed the Bay of Piglets, was foiled by Venezuelan security forces. Government officials arrested a number Venezuelan dissidents and two American former Green Berets, working as mercenaries for Silvercorp, a US security firm.
UPI
16-06-2025
- Politics
- UPI
Venezuela leads world in number of refugees
Supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido demonstrate with a Venezuelan national flag as they wait for his return in Caracas (2019). A new UN report says Venezuelans were the second-largest group worldwide to request asylum in 2024. File Photo by Marcelo Perez/UPI | License Photo June 16 (UPI) -- Venezuela now leads the world in the number of refugees and people in need of international protection, according to the latest Global Trends report from the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. A drop in Afghan refugee numbers and the return of nearly 2 million Syrians after the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad made Venezuela the country with the highest combined total of refugees and people in need of international protection in 2024 -- 370,200 and 5.9 million, respectively. The total marked a 2% increase from the previous year. Most Venezuelans seeking refuge remain in Latin America. Colombia hosts the largest number, with 2.8 million -- making it the third-largest refugee-hosting country in the world. It is followed by Peru (1.1 million), Brazil (605,700), Chile (523,800) and Ecuador (441,600). The UNHCR reported that Venezuelans were the second-largest group worldwide to request asylum in 2024, with 268,100 new claims. The United States received 729,100 asylum applications in the first half of 2024, the most recent period for which data is available. Most came from Latin America and the Caribbean, led by Venezuelans (116,700), Colombians (79,300), Mexicans (54,000) and Haitians (46,600). The UNHCR report also ranked Venezuela as the world's third-largest source of people living in exile, behind Afghanistan and Syria and ahead of Ukraine. The number of displaced Venezuelans rose from 5.4 million in 2023 to 6.1 million in 2024. The government of President Nicolás Maduro rejected the report, calling it "manipulated data that confirms the total degradation of this U.N. agency." In a statement, the Venezuelan government said the UNHCR reports "have become a propaganda tool used to justify aggression, raise funds and attack sovereign nations like Venezuela." By the end of 2024, an estimated 123.2 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, human rights violations, public disorder and other forms of violence -- an increase of more than 7 million people, or 6%, from the end of 2023. While global displacement nearly doubled over the past decade, the growth rate slowed in the second half of 2024. By the end of April 2025, the total had declined by 1% to 122.1 million -- the first drop in more than a decade. The UNHCR reports that 23 million displaced people are in the Americas, where the region is seeing "unprecedented mixed movements of refugees and migrants, often along deadly routes." Still, the agency highlighted progress in adopting "solutions to ensure the protection, regularization and integration of displaced people." The report cites Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador as countries "carrying out regularization programs for vulnerable refugees and migrants, ensuring documentation and access to services."
