Hugo Carvajal Barrios — who is also known as “El Pollo,” or “The Chicken” — served as director of military intelligence under Venezuela’s leftist leader Hugo Chávez, as well as his successor and current president, Nicolas Maduro.
Carvajal, 65, is accused of helping lead a trafficking group known as the Cartel de los Soles, or “Cartel of the Suns.” The name comes from insignias on the uniforms of high-ranking Venezuelan military officials. Prosecutors alleged that both Chávez and Maduro were part of the cartel.
Carvajal was due to begin his trial on June 30, but instead submitted a guilty plea on June 25. Given Carvajal’s inside knowledge of the Venezuelan government, his testimony could have made public key information about the roles leading politicians and military figures allegedly played in the cartel.
Carvajal has avoided going to trial by pleading guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine into the U.S., among other charges. He also admitted to engaging in narco-terrorism for the benefit of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in a statement.
Carvajal faces possible life in prison for just one of the four counts against him, and potentially 60 years more on the other charges, but the sentence will be decided by a judge, the Attorney’s Office said.
Carvajal’s sentencing is not expected until October, so there’s still time for him to make a deal with U.S. authorities to provide information in return for a reduced prison term, said Bonnie Klapper, a former prosecutor in California and New York.
“It is highly unlikely, but not impossible,” she told OCCRP. “Because he pleaded instead of making the government go to trial, it may still be possible”.
Court filings show that evidence approved for trial included testimonies from witnesses describing meetings attended by Chávez in 2005, 2008, and 2009. The former president allegedly advocated for the removal of certain judges to “protect drug routes” used by Colombian FARC guerrillas within Venezuela.
Prosecutors allege that Chávez said he wanted to "flood" the U.S. with drugs. They also accuse Venezuela’s current interior minister, Diosdado Cabello, of outlining plans to collaborate with the FARC in exporting narcotics to the U.S. and Europe.
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Prosecutors allege that Chávez led the Cartel de los Soles until his death in 2013, after which Maduro assumed control. Maduro rejected the accusation after being indicted in 2020, posting on X that the U.S. was attempting to “fill Venezuela with violence.”
Carvajal turned against Maduro in 2019, throwing his support instead behind the U.S.-backed political opposition figure Juan Guaido. He was charged with treason in Venezuela and fled to Spain, entering under a fake identity.
Spanish authorities arrested Carvajal on an Interpol warrant in April 2019, a month after he arrived in the country. He escaped house arrest and went missing for more than a year before being found in September 2021, hiding out in Madrid.
In 2023, Spain extradited Carvajal to the U.S. to face trial.
Carvajal’s lawyer planned to argue the extradition was illegal, OCCRP reported in March. The lawyer said he intended to argue that Carvajal could not be prosecuted, because he had “sovereign immunity” as a representative of a foreign government.
But plans to keep Carvajal out of prison have now failed.
“After years of trying to evade law enforcement, Carvajal Barrios will now likely spend the rest of his life in federal prison,” Robert Murphy, the acting administrator for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, said in a statement.