The legal team for Hugo Carvajal Barrios, once a top Venezuelan spy official, intends to argue in a New York court that he cannot stand trial for allegedly leading a state-sponsored drug cartel, citing “sovereign immunity” granted to foreign government representatives.
Carvajal’s attorney, Robert Feitel, also plans to challenge the legality of his client’s 2023 extradition to the United States, according to a recently released transcript of a November court proceeding. Known by his nickname “El Pollo,” Carvajal oversaw military intelligence under former President Hugo Chavez and current leader Nicolas Maduro.
U.S. prosecutors contend that he was a key figure in the Cartel de los Soles, a group named after the military insignia of high-ranking Venezuelan officers, which allegedly used state resources to traffic cocaine. The accusations center on a 2006 plot to smuggle over five tons of cocaine into the U.S. via a private jet, which was intercepted in Mexico.
During the November 12 conference, Feitel confirmed plans to file a motion asserting immunity, arguing that the alleged crimes occurred while Carvajal held an official government position, despite his departure from that role by the time of his arrest. The court had set deadlines for motions by January 17, with responses due by February 21, but public documents on the outcome have not been released.
Carvajal’s path to the U.S. courtroom has been protracted. In 2014, while serving as Venezuela’s consul in Aruba, a Dutch court blocked extradition, citing diplomatic immunity. He was later expelled from the military in 2019 for backing opposition figure Juan Guaido, fled to Spain using a false identity, and was arrested on an Interpol warrant. After escaping house arrest, he remained at large for over a year before being recaptured in Madrid in 2021. Spain finally extradited him to the U.S. in 2023, where he faces charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy and weapons offenses.
A trial date has been set for June 30.