Maduro's Former Intelligence Chief Says Regime Worked With FARC, ELN and Hezbollah to Target U.S., in Letter to Trump

Venezuela's former military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal Barrios, widely known by his nickname "El Pollo", has accused the government of Nicolás Maduro of collaborating with foreign armed groups to target the United States, according to a letter directed to president Trump and obtained by The Dallas Express.

Carvajal, once a top official in the governments of Hugo Chávez and Maduro, is currently imprisoned in the United States after pleading guilty in a federal narco-terrorism case. In the letter addressed to President Donald Trump, he describes Venezuela as a "narco-terrorist organization" and claims the Maduro government has used cocaine trafficking as a weapon against the United States.

"I write to atone by telling the full truth so that the United States can protect itself from the dangers I witnessed for so many years," Carvajal states in the letter, arguing that Trump's policies toward Venezuela are "absolutely necessary for the national security of the United States."

Carvajal goes on to explain that the strategy to move drugs into the U.S. was developed under Chávez and guided by Cuban intelligence in the mid-2000s. He claims it was executed "with help from FARC, ELN, Cuban operatives, and Hezbollah," and that Venezuelan authorities provided those groups "weapons, passports, and impunity" to operate from Venezuelan territory.

The former general also said criminal groups such as Tren de Aragua were recruited from prisons to protect the government in exchange for immunity, later expanding abroad. He wrote that their activities in the U.S. — including kidnapping and extortion — are "acts ordered by the regime."

Carvajal further asserted that Russian intelligence proposed tapping submarine internet cables linking South America and the U.S., and that Venezuelan and Cuban operatives infiltrated American institutions for decades. He said some U.S. officials were "paid to assist Chávez and Maduro in remaining in power."

He warned that the government in Caracas "is not merely hostile — it is at war with you," adding that he is "ready to provide additional details" to U.S. authorities.

The Dallas Express reported that Carvajal's attorney submitted the letter to the outlet, and that the claims have not been independently verified. Maduro has previously denied allegations linking his government to drug-trafficking networks.

Carvajal fled Venezuela in 2017 after breaking with Maduro and was extradited from Spain in 2023.