New York: A United States federal grand jury has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Moros and several top political and military figures of orchestrating what prosecutors describe as one of the largest state-backed drug trafficking operations targeting the US.
According to a sealed superseding indictment filed in the Southern District of New York, Maduro, along with Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, former interior minister Ramon Rodriguez Chacin, First Lady Cilia Flores, Maduro’s son Nicolas Maduro Guerra, and gang leader Hector “Niño” Guerrero, allegedly conspired over more than two decades to import thousands of tonnes of cocaine into the US.
US prosecutors allege that from at least 1999 through 2025, senior Venezuelan officials abused positions of public trust, corrupted state institutions and provided protection to drug traffickers in exchange for bribes and political support. The indictment claims that cocaine shipments moved through Venezuela via airstrips, ports and diplomatic channels, with Venezuelan military and intelligence officials providing logistical cover.
The charges also allege partnerships with multiple transnational criminal and terrorist organisations, including Colombia’s FARC and ELN guerrilla groups, Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and Zetas, and the Venezuelan prison-born gang Tren de Aragua, all of which are designated by the US as foreign terrorist organisations. Prosecutors say these alliances helped move cocaine through Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico before entering the US market.
Among the most serious accusations are claims that Maduro, while serving as foreign minister, issued diplomatic passports to traffickers, facilitated protected flights for laundering drug proceeds, and later, as president, allowed a “narco-state” system—known as the Cartel de los Soles—to flourish. The indictment also details alleged bribe-taking, protection of cocaine flights, use of state-owned aircraft, and involvement of Maduro’s family members in drug shipments and money flows.
The indictment includes charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and firearms offences linked to drug trafficking, carrying the possibility of asset forfeiture of properties and proceeds derived from the alleged crimes. Several co-accused named in the document are fugitives, while some former Venezuelan officials have already pleaded guilty in related cases in US courts.
Venezuela’s government has previously rejected similar US आरोप, calling them politically motivated and an attempt to delegitimise the Maduro administration. The latest indictment, however, significantly expands the scope of allegations, naming additional actors and detailing specific drug shipments, payments and operational methods over a 25-year period.
The case underscores Washington’s continued legal and diplomatic pressure on the Maduro regime, even as Caracas seeks limited engagement with the US amid sanctions negotiations and geopolitical shifts in Latin America.