A sweeping U.S. federal indictment accuses Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and senior members of his inner circle of orchestrating what prosecutors describe as a decades-long narco-terrorism enterprise that flooded the United States with cocaine while partnering with some of the world's most violent criminal and terrorist organizations.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the sealed superseding indictment alleges that for more than 25 years, "leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States."
At the center of the case is Maduro himself, whom prosecutors accuse of using every senior post he held – legislator, foreign minister, vice president, and ultimately president – to advance drug trafficking operations. According to the indictment, "NICOLAS MADURO MOROS… has partnered with his co-conspirators to use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States."
The document alleges that Maduro's activities began long before he assumed the presidency. As a member of Venezuela's National Assembly, prosecutors say, he "moved loads of cocaine under the protection of Venezuelan law enforcement." As foreign minister, he allegedly "provided Venezuelan diplomatic passports to drug traffickers and facilitated diplomatic cover for planes used by money launderers to repatriate drug proceeds from Mexico to Venezuela"
The indictment names several high-ranking co-defendants, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello Rondón, former Interior Minister Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, Maduro's wife Cilia Flores de Maduro, his son Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra – known as "Nicolasito" and "The Prince" – and Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, identified as the leader of the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua.
Prosecutors describe Venezuela as a state captured by organized crime. Maduro, they write, "now sits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking." The alleged operation enriched not only political and military elites but also Maduro's own family, the indictment claims.
Central to the allegations is the so-called "Cartel de Los Soles," described as a patronage network of corrupt military and intelligence officials who allegedly protected cocaine shipments in exchange for profits. The indictment states that drug trafficking through Venezuela grew so extensive that "by in or about 2020, the State Department estimated that between 200 and 250 tons of cocaine were trafficked through Venezuela annually."
The cocaine, prosecutors allege, was shipped north by sea and air – using "go-fast vessels, fishing boats, and container ships," as well as clandestine airstrips and commercial airports controlled by corrupt officials.
According to the indictment, Maduro and his associates did not act alone. Prosecutors allege partnerships with foreign terrorist organizations and cartels, including the FARC, ELN, Sinaloa Cartel, Zetas, and Tren de Aragua. "MADURO MOROS and his co-conspirators have, for decades, partnered with some of the most violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world," the document states.
The indictment lays out detailed overt acts. It alleges that while serving as foreign minister, Maduro sold diplomatic passports to traffickers and arranged for private planes carrying drug proceeds to fly under diplomatic cover without scrutiny.
In another episode, prosecutors allege that Cilia Flores de Maduro accepted "hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes" to broker protection for cocaine flights, with payments continuing on a per-shipment basis.
One of the most striking allegations involves a 2006 shipment of more than 5.5 tons of cocaine transported on a DC-9 jet from Venezuela to Mexico. Although the shipment was seized by Mexican authorities, prosecutors say bribes were later paid to senior Venezuelan officials to ensure no arrests followed.
The indictment also accuses Maduro and Flores of maintaining armed gangs, known as colectivos, to protect their trafficking network and to enforce debts. According to prosecutors, they "ordered kidnappings, beatings, and murders against those who owed them drug money or otherwise undermined their drug trafficking operation."
Maduro's son, Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra, is alleged to have played an active role as well, including supervising cocaine shipments on aircraft owned by Venezuela's state oil company. In one instance, the indictment claims he stated that the plane "could go wherever it wanted, including the United States."
The charges include narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and firearms offenses involving machineguns and destructive devices. Prosecutors allege the defendants knowingly provided support to designated foreign terrorist organizations through drug trafficking profits.
The indictment seeks forfeiture of assets derived from the alleged crimes and underscores that the accusations span from 1999 through 2025. As with all criminal cases, the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
