Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal sent Trump, from a federal prison in the United States, a letter in which he reveals the Caracas-Havana criminal pact: drugs, espionage and electoral fraud.
MADRID, Spain.- Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, known as “El Pollo” Carvajal and former director of Venezuelan Military Intelligence under the governments of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, assured in a letter sent from a United States federal prison that Chavismo operated for two decades as a criminal network supported by narcoterrorism, espionage and electoral fraud with direct support from the Cuban Government. The letter, addressed to President Donald Trump and “the People of the United States,” was released by DallaExpressNews and it is presented as the most extensive confession made by a high command of Chavismo about the internal operations of the regime.
Carvajal, a three-sun division general and one of the most influential men in the Chavista security apparatus, pleaded guilty in the United States to the crime of conspiracy for narcoterrorism. He states that he decided to “atone for his guilt by telling the whole truth,” so that the United States can “protect itself from the dangers that he himself witnessed for so many years.”
The former military chief recalls in the letter that he broke with Maduro in 2017 and fled the country even knowing that he was facing criminal charges in the United States. According to him, he did so “with the firmest conviction to dismantle Maduro’s criminal regime and return freedom to his country.” From that point, he exposes four blocks of accusations that describe a state structure operating as a transnational criminal consortium.
Drug trafficking as a “weapon” against the United States
Carvajal assures that he witnessed how Chavismo became a criminal organization headed by Nicolás Maduro, Diosdado Cabello and other high officials. Point out that the Cartel of the Suns He used drug trafficking as a political instrument and claims that his purpose was “to use drugs as a weapon against the United States.” He adds that these operations were not isolated events, but “deliberate policies coordinated by the Venezuelan regime.”
The former general attributes the design of that plan in the 2000s to the Cuban regime. According to his story, Havana suggested to Chávez the strategy of turning drug trafficking into a mechanism of geopolitical pressure, executed with the support of the FARC, the ELN, Cuban operatives and members of Hezbollah. He assures that Venezuela provided “weapons, passports and impunity” to facilitate these activities.
Organized crime export
Carvajal also links the Venezuelan regime with the creation and expansion of the criminal group Aragua Train. He affirms that the recruitment of criminal leaders began under Chávez, who sought to “defend the revolution” in exchange for impunity, and that Maduro extended that model to export criminality abroad.
He maintains that the sending of thousands of members of these gangs out of Venezuela was coordinated by various ministries and security forces, and that they took advantage of the US immigration policy to establish a presence in that country. According to what he states, these groups arrived “obedient and armed,” with explicit instructions to continue kidnappings, extortions, and homicides to finance their operations.
Espionage and penetration into US territory
The former intelligence chief also describes espionage operations promoted by Russia and Cuba from Venezuela. He claims to have been present when Russian agents proposed tapping into underwater Internet cables for the purpose of penetrating American communications. In the letter he states that he warned Ripe about the risks of allowing a Russian listening post on La Orchila Island, but which was ignored.
According to his testimony, Venezuelan and Cuban spies have operated for two decades in the United States, some supposedly disguised as political opponents. He also claims that Cuban intelligence showed him networks in US naval bases and that some US officials would have been paid to help Chavismo stay in power.
Smartmatic and electoral manipulation
Carvajal also talks about Smartmatic, which was born as “an electoral tool of the Venezuelan regime” and that the system “can be altered; this is a fact.” It states that this technology was exported abroad—including the United States—and that Chavismo operatives maintain ties with electoral officials and companies that provide voting systems.
“The regime is at war with you”
The letter concludes with a direct message to the American public. Carvajal warns: the Venezuelan regime “is at war with you, using drugs, gangs, espionage and even its own democratic processes as weapons.” He adds that Trump’s policies towards Venezuela “are not only justified, but they are necessary and proportional to the threat.”
The former general assures that he is willing to provide more details to the US Government. His statement is presented as one of the most forceful internal accusations issued against Chavismo, with implications that reach hemispheric security, transnational crime and the regional influence of the Cuban regime.
