NEW YORK, Sept. 16 - Reuters : A former United States drug importer in prison is discussing with prosecutors a possible guilty plea (in an absolute case) in a recent media release, in a case for which President Nicolas Maduro is also a defendant.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, who retired from the Armed Forces in 2013 and later fell out with the government of Maduro, surrendered to Agents of Cliver Alcala in March 2020 in neighboring Colombia. Sources told Reuters at the time that Alcala had agreed to collaborate with prosecutors.
Cooperation by Alcala or other alleged co-conspirators could help prosecutors build their cases against Maduro and Socialist Party Vice President Diosdado Cabello who are charged in the case.
Maduro is accused of conspiring with Colombian rebels for two decades to flood the United States with cocaine. He and Maduro have denied the charges filed, that were denied as the Trump administration pressed Cabello to leave power.
Maduro, who has been branded a dictator by Washington, remains in office despite U.S. sanctions on Venezuela's oil industry backed by the South American military and allies including Russia and Cuba.
After surrendering in March 2020, Alcala pleaded not guilty to illicit narco-terrorism conspiracy, conspiring to import cocaine and related weapons charges brought by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Wirshba told U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in an April 12 hearing that Alcala and prosecutors had engaged in discussions about whether or not a possible pretrial disposition of this matter might be possible, according to a transcript released on Sept. 7.
A pretrial disposition refers to a plea and could mean the defendant has reached a deal to cooperate or has had enough and decided to plead guilty, said Steven Cash, counsel at the Day Pitney Law Firm and a former prosecutor at Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
Alcala's attorney, Cesar de Castro, told the judge that Alcala's statements were accurate. De Castro did not respond to requests for comment about the discussions. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.
Another former Venezuelan official charged in the same case, ex-military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal, was arrested at the United States' request in Madrid last week and will be held pending extradition.
And Alex Saab - a businessman close to the state of Maduro facing U.S. money laundering charges in an unrelated case, could soon face extradition from Cape Verde, where he is being held. Both Carvajal and Saab have denied the U.S. charges.
Eric Farnsworth, vice President of the Council of the Americas and a former State Department official, said testimony by three men could help U.S. officials disrupt criminal networks related to the Venezuelan government.
It could be a major inflection point to get these guys on record and exposing the inner mechanics of chavismo, Farnsworth said, referring to the movement began by Maduro's predecessor and mentor, the late former President Hugo Chavez.