President Trump has released a picture of President Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela at the moment he was boarding the USS Iwo Jima to the USA earlier today after airstrikes.
U.S. Department of Justice Unseals Superseding Indictment Charging President Nicolás Maduro, Diosdado Cabello, and Top Venezuelan Officials with Narco-Terrorism and Massive Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy
In a major escalation of U.S. legal action against the Venezuelan regime, federal prosecutors have unsealed a superseding indictment (S4 11 Cr. 205 (AKH)) charging six high-ranking Venezuelan figures with orchestrating a decades-long conspiracy to flood the United States with thousands of tons of cocaine, while partnering with designated foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal groups.
Key Defendants Charged:
– Nicolás Maduro Moros former President and current de facto ruler of Venezuela
– Diosdado Cabello Rondón Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace, and one of the most powerful figures in the regime
– Ramón Rodríguez Chacín former Minister of the Interior and Justice
– Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro de facto First Lady of Venezuela
– Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra (“Nicolasito” / “The Prince”) — son of Nicolás Maduro and member of Venezuela’s National Assembly
– Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores (“Niño Guerrero”) — leader of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA)
Main Allegations:
The indictment accuses the defendants of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy spanning from approximately 1999 to 2025, during which they allegedly:
– Partnered with narco-terrorist groups including the FARC(and its successors FARC-EP and Segunda Marquetalia), ELN, Sinaloa Cartel, Zetas/Cartel del Noreste, and Tren de Aragua
– Used Venezuelan government institutions, military, and diplomatic channels to protect, transport, and facilitate the importation of thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States
– Provided safe haven in Venezuela for drug traffickers and terrorists
– Enriched themselves and their families through corruption, bribery, money laundering, and patronage networks (often referred to as the “Cartel de los Soles”)
– Employed military escorts, clandestine airstrips, diplomatic passports, and commercial containers to move massive shipments (specific examples include 5.5+ tons seized in Mexico in 2006 and 1.3 tons in France in 2013)
Charges:
1. Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy (21 U.S.C. § 960a)
2. Cocaine Importation Conspiracy (multiple counts under 21 U.S.C. §§ 952, 959, 960)
3. Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices during drug trafficking (18 U.S.C. § 924(c))
4. Conspiracy to possess machineguns/destructive devices in relation to drug crimes
The case builds on long-running investigations into Venezuela’s alleged role as a narco-state. Previous co-conspirators, including former intelligence chief Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal (who pled guilty in June 2025) and Cliver Alcalá Cordones (guilty plea in 2023), have cooperated with U.S. authorities.
The indictment describes Venezuela under Maduro as a corrupted system where drug trafficking profits helped entrench political power, fund narco-terrorists, and benefit elite families while hundreds of tons of cocaine moved annually through Caribbean and Central American routes toward the U.S.
No arrests of the principal defendants have occurred, as they remain in Venezuela. The U.S. has long refused to recognize Maduro as legitimate president following disputed elections in 2018 and 2024.
This unsealing represents one of the most sweeping and senior-level indictments ever issued against a sitting foreign government leadership in connection with international drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.
The case is being prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
