Following the controversial inauguration of dictator Nicolás Maduro on January 10, 2025, the United States Department of State raised the reward for information leading to his capture to $25 million; This, after a remuneration of US 15 million was already due for the tyrant, who had already been charged with charges since 2020 for allegedly having engaged in narcoterrorism and corruption.
And, according to investigations by the United States Attorney's Office and the Southern District of New York prosecutor's office, The dictator would be linked to illicit activities related to drug trafficking, as well as an alleged collaboration with criminal structures such as the Los Soles Cartel and the extinct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).
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According to the report of the North American justice system, Maduro would have led the Los Soles Cartel, a criminal organization that would have operated for more than two decades in association with the FARC.which came to position itself as one of the most feared criminal structures in the national territory.
Apparently, This alliance would have facilitated the shipment of large quantities of cocaine to the United States in exchange for military weapons.. In fact, as stated in the following document, federal prosecutor Geoffrey S. Berman had indicated in 2020 that this relationship constituted a “narcoterrorism association” that sought to flood the US market with drugs while enriching its members.
It is also important to note that the judicial report emphasizes that Nicolás Maduro, along with other high-ranking Venezuelan officials such as Diosdado Cabello, Hugo Armando Carvajal and Cliver Antonio Alcalá, would have participated in a conspiracy to coordinate the transportation and distribution of cocaine.
According to the document, This operation was carried out in collaboration with FARC leaders, such as Luciano Marín, alias Iván Márquez, and Seuxis Paucis Hernández, alias Jesús Santrich.. Apparently, the Colombian criminal structure would have moved part of its operations to Venezuela under the protection of the Los Soles Cartel, which allowed them to grow and process cocaine in regions such as the southwest of the national territory, as well as in the Serranía del Perijá.
The report also notes that The FARC and the Los Soles Cartel used sea and air routes to transport the drugs. As explained by the North American justice system, maritime shipments left from the Venezuelan coast to the Caribbean and Central America, while air shipments were carried out from clandestine airstrips located mainly in the state of Apure.
Given this, the United States Department of State announced that in 2010 at least 75 unauthorized flights were recorded that used the so-called “cocaine route” between Venezuela and Honduras.
The court document also reveals that members of the FARC and the Los Soles Cartel would have paid bribes to Venezuelan officials, including Maduro, Cabello, Carvajal and Alcalá.
Such payments would have allowed them to access commercial ports and obtain air and maritime radar data to facilitate drug transportation. Furthermore, it is mentioned that In 2003 the Los Soles Cartel would have given 300,000 dollars to Jesús Santrich to establish a FARC camp in Apure, destined for the processing of cocaine.
Furthermore, the agencies in charge explained that, under Maduro's leadership, the Los Soles Cartel not only sought to enrich itself through drug trafficking, it also provided military-grade weapons to the FARC, as well as trained unauthorized militias that operated as a extension of the Venezuelan armed forces. These gestures would have consolidated the relationship between both organizations and strengthened their operational capacity.
“If you have information and are outside the United States, please contact the nearest US embassy or consulate. If you are in the United States, contact the local office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in your city,” the court document concludes.
