Last date updated January 6, 2026
Nicolás Maduro has been formally charged by U.S. authorities with leading a long‑running “narco‑terrorism” and cocaine‑trafficking conspiracy linked to Colombian guerrillas and a Venezuelan military–political network often called the Cartel de los Soles, but those allegations have not yet been proven in court and he has pleaded not guilty. Evidence for these ties comes primarily from U.S. indictments, Treasury sanctions, defectors’ testimony, and investigative reporting; there is no independent judicial finding inside Venezuela or an international tribunal that has definitively established Maduro’s personal guilt, and some analysts dispute aspects of the “cartel” narrative.[1][2][3][4][5]