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Detained Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro could become a major US intelligence asset in return for more favourable legal treatment, according to South America expert Cesar Alvarez.
Maduro, the alleged boss of extensive drug trafficking network Cártel de los Soles, was captured and detained by US military and law enforcement agencies in the capital of Caracas earlier this week.
He and his wife now face charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices under the US legal system. Maduro previously entered a plea of “not guilty” during a US court appearance earlier this week.
Charles Sturt University terrorism studies lecturer Cesar Alvarez, who has previously worked with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and in Colombia with the Terrorism Prevention Branch of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said the capture of Maduro could provide a massive intelligence windfall to America because of his well-connected history.
“Let’s remember that now (Nicolás) Maduro is in the handcuffs of US authorities. And that in the pursuit of obtaining judicial benefits, legal benefits, as part of his current judicial process in the US, it is likely that he will be open to negotiate,” Alvarez said, speaking exclusively with Defence Connect.
“(It’s an) important point that I haven’t seen in the recent analysis at the aftermath of the operation in Venezuela.
“He has very relevant information that could definitely put a lot of people in trouble. Many political leaders, any leaders from armed forces in different countries in the region, because he knows about the involvement of these people in his own drug trafficking operations.
“So, if that is the case, I think the window of opportunity for the US administration to use many different ways to apply more pressure on these leaders has just increased significantly.
“Not that they didn’t have it already, but now if there is some legal weight that could be added to the multiple options that they had on the table, with Maduro on their hands they can do it in many other ways and at a much more rapid pace … We will have to wait (and see).”
Defence Connect discussed the recent US military operation in Venezuela, the capture of Nicolás Maduro and the drug trade in South America with South America expert Cesar Alvarez in an upcoming in-depth podcast.
