Kanyshai Butun
07 January 2026•Update: 07 January 2026
ISTANBUL
Former Venezuelan military intelligence chief Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios might become a key witness in the federal criminal case against Venezuela’s captured leader Nicolas Maduro, USA Today reported on Tuesday.
Carvajal, once a close ally to late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Maduro, pleaded guilty last year in the US to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges, admitting his role in smuggling cocaine to American cities.
His surprise guilty plea came after two years of denying the charges and fueled speculation that he may cooperate with US authorities in exchange for a reduced sentence, possibly providing information about the government of Maduro.
According to the US Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) documents, the criminal network Carvajal helped run under both Maduro and Chavez, was cited by the Trump administration to justify the US raid that captured Maduro and his wife early on Jan. 3.
On Dec. 2, Carvajal wrote a letter to Trump, saying he wants to cooperate in investigations “to atone by telling the full truth so that the United States can protect itself from the dangers I witnessed for so many years."
In his letter, published by The Dallas Express, Carvajal alleges the Maduro regime weaponized cocaine and exported violent criminal networks, including Tren de Aragua, into the US.
Jack Kelly, a former DEA supervisory agent, told the outlet that Carvajal’s testimony against Maduro "would be akin to Sammy the Bull testifying against John Gotti.”
Carvajal’s lawyer Robert Feitel told USA Today that he could not discuss any aspect of the case against Maduro because his client may serve as a witness against the captured Venezuelan leader.
Carvajal and his lawyer must convince Justice Department prosecutors that his testimony is strong enough to outweigh the risk of harsh cross-examination by Maduro’s defense over Carvajal’s own role in the crimes, former top DEA agent Sandalio Gonzalez told the outlet.
“Just because he wants to cooperate doesn't mean he's entitled to,” said Gonzalez, who built the Maduro and Carvajal cases and left the DEA in December 2024.
He underlined that Carvajal's attorney has to present “significant evidentiary value” along with the usual thorough admissions of his entire criminal conduct.
The Justice Department will also have to weigh whether the testimony Carvajal could provide “would be critical evidence that they couldn’t get from another witness already under a cooperation agreement.”
On Jan. 3, US special forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in a nighttime raid in Caracas, taking him into US custody amid airstrikes on military targets.
The operation, authorized by President Donald Trump, stemmed from long-standing federal indictments accusing Maduro of narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and corruption.
On Jan. 5, Maduro appeared in a New York City federal court in handcuffs and an orange jumpsuit, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
