MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Former Venezuelan General sentenced to 21 years in a US jail

Alcalá was also said to have tried to overthrow Maduro

A former Venezuelan General involved in drug trafficking and who has admitted to helping the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas was sentenced Monday to 21 years in jail by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in a Manhattan federal court.

Cliver Alcalá, 62, was found to have acted along with other high-ranking Venezuelan officials as the leader and manager of the Cartel of the Suns, “abusing the Venezuelan people and corrupting Venezuela's legitimate institutions” to facilitate the import of tons of cocaine into the United States in association with the FARC, according to a statement from the US Department of Justice. In addition to the prison sentence, the defendant was sentenced to three years of supervised release after being found guilty of six counts of narco-terrorism, supporting terrorism, cocaine smuggling, and weapons possession. Prosecutors had sought a 30-year sentence for Alcala.

The military officer broke ties with Venezuela's government in 2013 and was accused in 2020 of leading a plot to depose President Nicolás Maduro and kill leading government officials. At that time, Alcalá, who resided in Barranquilla (Colombia), surrendered to US authorities where he was wanted for his illegal drug and arms trafficking activities.

He also received hefty bribes for protecting cocaine shipments from Venezuelan military intervention. His defense argued that he was following orders from then-President Hugo Chavez Frías when he helped the FARC and denied any involvement in drug trafficking. Hence, the legal team requested a sentence of no more than six years in jail but the prosecution insisted that Alcala's actions since 2013 did not justify leniency.

“Alcala Cordones corrupted his own country's vital institutions while helping the FARC flood this country with cocaine, but no longer. Instead, he will now spend more than two decades in a US prison,” said US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams.

In addition to Alcalá, the United States has a similar trial pending against former Chavista intelligence chief, former General Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal, accused of smuggling cocaine.