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**Former Venezuelan Intelligence Chief Pleads Guilty to Narcoterrorism in US Court**

**NEW YORK** – Hugo Carvajal, the former director of Venezuelan military intelligence under Hugo Chavez, pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday to multiple drug trafficking and weapons charges, including narcoterrorism conspiracy and conspiracy to import cocaine. The plea came just days before his trial was set to begin.

Carvajal, nicknamed “El Pollo” (The Chicken), served in Chavez’s government from 2004 to 2011 and was a powerful figure during the socialist leader’s reign. Federal prosecutors accuse Carvajal and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials of leading a drug cartel that aimed to flood the United States with cocaine. The cartel allegedly partnered with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), formerly considered a terrorist organization by the US, for cocaine production and distribution.

Prosecutors indicated that federal sentencing guidelines call for a mandatory minimum of 50 years in prison. “The deeply troubling reality is that there are powerful foreign government officials who conspire to flood the United States with drugs that kill and debilitate,” stated Jay Clayton, the interim US lawyer in Manhattan.

Carvajal’s extradition to the US from Spain in July 2023 followed a decade-long effort by the Justice Department. He had previously served as a diplomat under current Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro before defecting to support the US-backed political opposition. Carvajal is scheduled to be sentenced in October.

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