For over 25 years, leaders of Venezuela have abused their positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tons of cocaine into the United States.

NICOLAS MADURO MOROS, the defendant, is at the forefront of that corruption and has partnered with his co-conspirators to use his illegally obtained authority and the institutions he corroded to transport thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States. Since his early days in Venezuelan government, MADURO MOROS has tarnished every public office he has held. As a member of Venezuela's National Assembly, MADURO MOROS moved loads of cocaine under the protection of Venezuelan law enforcement. As Venezuela's Minister of Foreign Affairs, MADURO MOROS provided Venezuelan diplomatic passports to drug traffickers and facilitated diplomatic cover for planes used by money launderers to repatriate drug proceeds from Mexico to Venezuela. As Venezuela's President and now-de facto ruler, MADURO MOROS allows cocaine-fueled corruption to flourish for his own benefit, for the benefit of members of his ruling regime, and for the benefit of his family members.

NICOLAS MADURO MOROS, the defendant, now sits atop a corrupt, illegitimate government that, for decades, has leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking. That drug trafficking has enriched and entrenched Venezuela's political and military elite, including Minister of the Interior, Justice and Peace DIOSDADO CABELLO RONDON, the defendant, and former Minister of the Interior and Justice RAMON RODRIGUEZ CHACIN, the defendant. That massive-scale drug trafficking has also concentrated power and wealth in the hands of MADURO MOROS's family, including his wife, the purported First Lady of Venezuela CILIA ADELA FLORES DE MADURO, the defendant, and MADURO MOROS's son, member of Venezuela's National Assembly NICOLAS ERNESTO MADURO GUERRA, a/k/a "Nicolasito," a/k/a "The Prince," the defendant. This cycle of narcotics-based corruption lines the pockets of Venezuelan officials and their families while also benefiting violent narco-terrorists who operate with impunity on Venezuelan soil and who help produce, protect, and transport tons of cocaine to the United States.

At various times since in or about 1999, Venezuelan officials, including NICOLAS MADURO MOROS, DIOSDADO CABELLO RONDON, and RAMON RODRIGUEZ CHACIN, the defendants, have partnered with narco-terrorists from the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia ("F ARC"), Ejercito de Liberaci6n Nacional ("ELN"), the Sinaloa Cartel, the Zetas, and Tren de Aragua ("TdA"), including TdA's leader, HECTOR RUSTHENFORD GUERRERO FLORES, a/k/a "Nifio Guerrero," the defendant. In sum, MADURO MOROS and his co-conspirators have, for decades, partnered with some of the most
violent and prolific drug traffickers and narco-terrorists in the world, and relied on corrupt officials throughout the region, to distribute tons of cocaine to the United States.

Captured -> Kidnapped.