Explosive revelations about corruption, drug trafficking and links with Hezbollah of the former head of Chavist military intelligence after announcing his break with Nicolás Maduro

CARACAS – The former military intelligence officer of Venezuela and one of the most well-known personalities of the government of this country announced his support for the opposition and called Nicolás Maduro a dictator whose narrow circle is full of corrupted who treated the drug traffic and courted the militant group Hezbollah.

In interviews with The New York TimesHugo Carvajal, 58, deputy of the United Socialist Party in Venezuela, in power, urged other military to break ranks with president before a day of tension likely this Saturday, during which opponents will seek to get humanitarian aid across borders in the face of the blockade ordered by Maduro.

"For the generals," he added, "how come that, having the power to leave international humanitarian aid in our country to save lives, they decide not to do it?" so inhuman, are they so hypnotized? "

His statements were made in the middle of a wave of defections from government officials, including air force officers, diplomats, military attachés and members of the Bolivarian National Guard. The break with the regime of a man who once protected Maduro's secrets as chief of intelligence increases pressure on the president just three days before the possible confrontation over the pbadage of humanitarian aid to the Colombian border.

Carvajal's accusations also go further: he said that he was willing to testify against the Maduro government in case he fell. They are also a valuable weapon for the opposition, which has been saying for years that the president's relatives have links to drug traffickers and militia.

On Monday, February 18, Donald Trump's US government warned military officers to leave Maduro no later than the weekend or "lose everything". It was an escalation of American support for Juan Guaidó, an opposition leader who was sworn in as president in charge and who promised to provide humanitarian aid from February 23 against Maduro's will. Many supporters of Guaidó say they are ready to break into the border bridge to unblock the blockade.

Carvajal, who retired from the intelligence service in 2012 after nearly ten years of service, explained the internal workings of a government in an interview during which he badured that drug trafficking and corruption are frequent and managed by high profile personalities as Néstor ReverolMinister of the Interior; Tareck El Aissami, Minister of Industries and Production, who was previously Vice President, and Maduro himself.

The "chicken" Carvajal has asked his war comrades to deviate from the Chavez regime and allow the entrance of humanitarian aid to Venezuela (Reuters)

"The one who fights the drug in the end also ends up being trafficked," he said about Venezuelan officials accused or sanctioned by the United States.

Carvajal himself was detained for drug trafficking in US investigations; He avoided being extradited from Aruba for these charges in 2014 and was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for helping Colombian guerrilla groups to smuggle cocaine.

In interviews with TimeCarvajal acknowledged that he had contacts with both worlds.

But he added that any dealings with drug traffickers, including the Venezuelan drug king Walid Makled, had been concluded for investigative purposes as head of the military intelligence branch.

He said that he had met the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in 2001, but he only did so to begin negotiations with the government in the case of the kidnapping of a Venezuelan businessman, trip approved by the Colombian and Venezuelan presidents.

Carvajal pointed to other top government officials, such as Reverol, the interior minister, accused by the US of allegedly helping drug traffickers and quashed investigations when it came to the case. he was director of the National Office of Fight against Drugs (ONA).

Carvajal has remembered an incident that occurred in 2012, when he had stated that he was investigating a luxury ranch in Venezuela, owned by Makled, the capo. Carvajal stated that his team had intercepted a cargo of 400 kilos of cocaine who came to the ranch in a small plane.

After the confiscation of drugs, according to Carvajal, he would have received an unusual call informing him that the army had determined that the cargo did not contain narcotics, which he interpreted as an attempt by the government for Makled to recover his burden.

Carvajal said that he could cancel the decision to return the shipment.

He badured that The Aissami and Reverol were "directly responsible" and accused men of receiving bribes from ignoring drug trafficking.

Carvajal also denounced Reverol for allowing drugged planes to land on board while he was running ONA. He said that in 2012, he had called Reverol to report a suspicious aircraft flying over Caracas at low altitude, but that Reverol had done nothing and that the plane was continuing its course.

"I'm sure it was a drug overload," Carvajal said.

In 2017, the Treasury Department established sanctions against El Aissami, who was vice president at the time, after calling him "a major Venezuelan drug trafficker"

Carvajal said that El Aissami He had also sought alliances with Hezbollah, the militant militant Shiite organization. He said that during his trip to Iran with El Aissami in 2009 on behalf of Hugo Chávez, El Aissami – who was then Minister of the Interior – asked to make a stopover in Syria, where he had friends and his family.

According to Carvajal, during this stop, they met a representative of Hezbollah and a Venezuelan diplomat who sympathizes with the Lebanese militants. The Aissami proposed a plan to the militia to go to Venezuela to work with the FARC fighters, according to Carvajal.

He added that the Hezbollah operator gave three rifles to El Aissami and he gave one to Carvajal. During the interview, Carvajal showed the rifle and his pbadport bearing seals in Iran and Syria corresponding to the dates indicated.

Carvajal said he did not know the identity of the Hezbollah person, but identified the Venezuelan diplomat Ghazi Nasr al Din, former chargé d'affaires at the Venezuelan Embbady in Damascus, the Syrian capital.

In 2008, Al Din was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department for being a "Hezbollah sympathizer" who "facilitated the Hezbollah's trip to Venezuela." He is also wanted by the FBI for these charges.

Carvajal said he objected to the project of inviting Lebanese militiamen to Venezuela directly with Maduro, who was Chancellor at that time. But Maduro, who was in favor of the United States, seemed to support the proposalsaid Carvajal.

Maduro denied that his government has ties to Hezbollah.

Carvajal said that he was also in the middle of a dispute between the president and Venezuelan billionaire Raul Gorrin, which had resulted in a duel of blackmail attempts and corruption.

Carvajal said that Maduro, after being elected president following the death of Chávez in 2013, was irritated by the adverse coverage he had made to Globovisión, whose owner was Gorrín.

Maduro, according to Carvajal, expressed his interest in using the intelligence files collected by Carvajal to put pressure on Gorrín to modify the editorial line of the television channel. According to Carvajal, these files contained information about Gorrín's bribes to the authorities.

A little later, a Gorrín representative offered Carvajal $ 10 million to terminate the investigation, according to the former military intelligence officer, who said he did not accept the payment.

Globovisión soon changed its editorial line into a support line for Maduro.

Gorrín could not be contacted for comment: his place of residence is unknown and wanted by the United States because of money laundering charges and bribes to senior citizens officials, including the former treasurer of Venezuela who, according to the charges, he bought yachts, houses, jets and racehorses.