<p style="font-weight: 400;">The <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1422326/dl">indictment</a> brought by the United States against Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro Moros has been released.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">It outlines a decades-long racketeering and narco-terrorism conspiracy led by Maduro and high-ranking members of the Venezuelan government. The United States alleges that these individuals transformed the Venezuelan state into a criminal enterprise, known as the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), to traffic thousands of tons of cocaine into America.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">“For over 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States,” the indictment states. “Nicolas Maduro Moros, the defendant, is at the forefront of that corruption and has partnered with his co-conspirators to use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States.”</p>
<p>“Since his early days in Venezuelan government, Maduro Moros has tarnished every public office he has held,” the indictment continues. “As a member of Venezuela&#8217;s National Assembly, Maduro Moros moved loads of cocaine under the protection of Venezuelan law enforcement. As Venezuela&#8217;s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maduro Moros provided Venezuelan diplomatic passports to drug traffickers and facilitated diplomatic cover for planes used by money launderers to repatriate drug proceeds from Mexico to Venezuela. As Venezuela&#8217;s President and <em>now-de facto </em>ruler, Maduro Moros allows cocaine-fueled corruption to flourish for his own benefit, for the benefit of members of his ruling regime, and for the benefit of his family members.”</p>
<p>The indictment centers on Maduro, whom the U.S. describes as the <em data-path-to-node="3" data-index-in-node="73">de facto</em> but illegitimate leader of Venezuela. It details how he and his inner circle used their official positions to protect drug shipments rather than serve the public. Key co-conspirators include:</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Diosdado Cabello Rondón: Minister of the Interior and a powerful military figure.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Ramón Rodríguez Chacín: Former Minister of the Interior and Justice.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro: Maduro’s wife and &#8220;first lady,&#8221; accused of brokering bribes for drug traffickers.</p>
<p>Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra (&#8220;Nicolasito&#8221;): Maduro’s son, accused of using state-owned aircraft to transport cocaine.</p>
<p>Héctor Guerrero Flores (&#8220;Niño Guerrero&#8221;): Leader of the violent Tren de Aragua (TdA) criminal organization.</p></blockquote>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The Venezuelan regime allegedly provided a &#8220;safe haven&#8221; for various designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and international cartels. These groups operated with impunity on Venezuelan soil in exchange for sharing profits with the regime.</p>
<ul>
<li>FARC &amp; ELN (Colombia): Guerrilla groups that produced the cocaine in Colombia and moved it into Venezuela under military protection.</li>
<li data-path-to-node="8,1,0">Sinaloa Cartel &amp; Los Zetas (Mexico): Acting as the primary distributors, these groups received Venezuelan shipments in Mexico and Central America to move them across the U.S. border.</li>
<li data-path-to-node="8,2,0">Tren de Aragua (TdA): Provided logistics and armed escorts within Venezuela, specifically controlling the coastlines to facilitate maritime shipments.</li>
</ul>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The indictment lists specific instances of high-level corruption spanning from 1999 to 2025:</p>
<ul>
<li data-path-to-node="12,0,0">Diplomatic Cover: As Foreign Minister, Maduro allegedly sold diplomatic passports to traffickers and used diplomatic flights to repatriate drug proceeds from Mexico without law enforcement scrutiny.</li>
<li data-path-to-node="12,1,0">The &#8220;Presidential Hangar&#8221;: Thousands of kilograms of cocaine were allegedly loaded onto planes at the Simon Bolivar International Airport, often utilizing the hangar reserved for the Venezuelan leader.</li>
<li data-path-to-node="12,2,0">Bribery and Violence: The defendants are accused of accepting millions in bribes to protect traffickers, ordering the murder of rival drug bosses, and using state-sponsored gangs (<em data-path-to-node="12,2,0" data-index-in-node="180">colectivos</em>) to enforce their criminal interests.</li>
<li data-path-to-node="12,3,0">Weapons for Drugs: The regime reportedly supplied FARC and ELN rebels with military-grade weaponry, including machine guns and grenades, to protect the production and transport of cocaine.</li>
</ul>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">The grand jury has brought four primary counts against the defendants:</p>
<ol>
<li data-path-to-node="16,0,0">Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy: Knowing and intending to provide pecuniary value to terrorist organizations through drug distribution.</li>
<li data-path-to-node="16,1,0">Cocaine Importation Conspiracy: Planning the manufacture and distribution of over five kilograms of cocaine with the intent to import it into the United States.</li>
<li data-path-to-node="16,2,0">Possession of Machine Guns and Destructive Devices: Carrying and using military-grade weaponry in furtherance of drug trafficking.</li>
<li data-path-to-node="16,3,0">Conspiracy to Possess Machine Guns: Agreeing to provide and use such weapons to protect the enterprise.</li>
</ol>
<p style="font-weight: 400;" data-path-to-node="17">The United States government seeks the forfeiture of all property and proceeds derived from these crimes.</p>

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The United States V. Nicolás Maduro: The ‘Cartel Of The Suns’ Indictment