Venezuela - One wonders how FATF do not have a darker colour than GREY for this narco-state.

The guilty plea of Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, known as "El Pollo", marks a pivotal moment in exposing how Venezuela's state apparatus was allegedly transformed into a narco-state.

🌍 Geopolitical Implications

Carvajal’s plea offers rare insight into:

• State-sponsored drug trafficking
• The weaponization of narcotics as a geopolitical tool
• The corruption of Venezuela’s institutions at the highest levels

🔍 Who is Hugo Carvajal?

Carvajal was a retired Major General and former director of Venezuela’s military intelligence agency (DIM).

He served under President Hugo Chávez and briefly under Nicolás Maduro. His role gave him deep access to the inner workings of Venezuela’s military and intelligence networks.

⚖️ Charges and Guilty Plea

In June 2025, Carvajal pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to:

• Conspiracy to import cocaine into the U.S.
• Narco-terrorism in collaboration with the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)
• Weapons offenses

🕸️ The Cartel de Los Soles

Carvajal was a key figure in the Cartel de Los Soles ("Cartel of the Suns"), a criminal network composed of high-ranking Venezuelan military officials. The name comes from the sun insignias worn by Venezuelan generals.

This cartel:

• Used state institutions (military, intelligence, judiciary) to facilitate and protect drug trafficking
• Partnered with FARC to move tons of cocaine through Venezuela into the U.S.
• Treated cocaine as a weapon against the United States, according to U.S. prosecutors

🧩 What Comes Next?

Though Carvajal has been out of power for years, U.S. officials believe he may still hold valuable intelligence on:

• The spread of Venezuelan criminal networks like Tren de Aragua
• Foreign influence operations involving Russia, China, Iran, and Cuba
• Possibly even electoral manipulation technologies

References

Former Venezuelan General Pleads Guilty To Narco-Terrorism, Weapons ... https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-venezuelan-general-pleads-guilty-narco-terrorism-weapons-and-drug-trafficking

Ex-Venezuela spy chief "El Pollo" pleads guilty to U.S. drug ... https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-venezuela-spy-chief-el-pollo-hugo-carvajal-guilty-us-drug-trafficking-charges-narco-terrorism/