Former Venezuela spymaster pleads guilty to narcoterrorism charge ahead of trial
June 25, 2025
A former Venezuelan spymaster who was close to the country’s late President Hugo Chávez has pleaded guilty to narco-terrorist charges. Retired Maj. Gen. Hugo Carvajal’s plea Wednesday comes a week before his trial was set to begin in a Manhattan federal court. Carvajal was extradited from Spain in 2023 after more than a decade on the run from U.S. law enforcement. Carvajal pleaded guilty to all four criminal counts in an indictment accusing him of leading a cartel made up of senior Venezuelan military officers that attempted to “flood” the U.S. with cocaine. The most serious count, for narco-terrorist conspiracy, carries a mandatory minimum 20-year sentence.
