WASHINGTON — Hours after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that American forces had carried out a “large-scale strike” in Venezuela and extracted President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed a far-reaching indictment portraying Venezuela’s political leadership as the command center of a state-run narcotics and narco-terrorism enterprise.
Filed in the Southern District of New York, United States of America v. Nicolás Maduro Moros, et al., the indictment accuses Maduro, senior ministers, family members, and allied armed groups of transforming Venezuela into what prosecutors describe as a narco-state, where government power, military authority, and organized crime merged over more than 25 years.
The indictment was unsealed amid heightened geopolitical tensions, with reports indicating that Maduro had met China’s special representative for Latin American affairs, Qiu Xiaoqi, at the Miraflores presidential palace only hours before the U.S. operation began.
Allegations of a State-Run Cocaine Enterprise
According to U.S. prosecutors, Venezuela’s leadership systematically abused public office to facilitate the movement of thousands of tons of cocaine toward the United States. The charging document alleges that, rather than combating trafficking, state institutions were deliberately repurposed to protect and promote it.
Maduro is placed “at the forefront” of the conspiracy, accused of using the presidency and the institutions under his control to shield traffickers, enrich his inner circle, and consolidate political power. Prosecutors allege that by around 2020, between 200 and 250 tons of cocaine were being trafficked through Venezuela annually via maritime routes, container ships, clandestine airstrips, and commercial flights.
Inner Circle Named
The indictment names several of Venezuela’s most powerful figures, including:
- Cilia Flores, Maduro’s wife, accused of accepting bribes and facilitating access to senior anti-drug officials;
- Diosdado Cabello Rondón, current interior minister, alleged to have overseen large-scale shipments using military and port infrastructure;
- Ramón Rodríguez Chacín, former interior and justice minister, accused of sheltering Colombian insurgents and blocking arrests and extraditions;
- Nicolás Ernesto Maduro Guerra, Maduro’s son, accused of direct involvement in drug-linked flights and logistics.
Prosecutors allege that Maduro’s family directly benefited from the operation, with power and wealth concentrated within a small political-military elite.
Cartels, Insurgents, and Terrorism Designations
The case situates Venezuela’s alleged trafficking network within the U.S. counterterrorism framework. Prosecutors say Venezuelan officials partnered with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, the Zetas / Cartel del Noreste, and Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua.
The indictment highlights that in February 2025, the U.S. State Department designated the Sinaloa Cartel, Cartel del Noreste, and Tren de Aragua as foreign terrorist organizations, a designation prosecutors say underscores the national-security implications of the alleged conspiracy.
Diplomacy, Aviation, and Violence as Tools
According to the indictment, Maduro’s alleged role evolved alongside his political career. As foreign minister, he is accused of issuing diplomatic passports to traffickers and using embassies to provide cover for drug flights and cash movements. As president, prosecutors allege, he allowed “cocaine-fueled corruption” to flourish with impunity.
The document also alleges systematic violence, including kidnappings, beatings, and murders, carried out by state-backed armed groups known as colectivos and protected by military escorts.
Several high-profile seizures are cited, including a 5.5-ton cocaine shipment seized from a DC-9 aircraft in 2006 and a 1.3-ton seizure at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in 2013. Prosecutors allege senior Venezuelan officials responded by altering routes, paying bribes, and authorizing selective arrests to deflect scrutiny.
Tren de Aragua and Transnational Reach
The indictment expands the profile of Tren de Aragua from a domestic prison gang to a transnational logistics actor. Its leader, Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as “Niño Guerrero,” is accused of controlling coastal routes, storage facilities, and armed escorts capable of protecting multi-ton cocaine shipments.
Charges and Broader Implications
The charges include narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and firearms offenses involving machine guns and destructive devices, covering alleged conduct from 1999 through 2025.
For U.S. prosecutors, the case seeks to collapse any distinction between political leadership and organized crime in Venezuela. The indictment argues that what would normally be considered state functions — diplomacy, aviation oversight, policing, and military operations — were instead weaponized to sustain a narcotics corridor directed at the United States.
For IJ-Reportika, the unsealing of this indictment marks one of the most aggressive legal efforts yet by Washington to formally redefine Venezuela’s leadership not merely as authoritarian, but as a criminal enterprise operating under the cover of state power.
