A former Venezuelan normal, Cliver Alcalá Cordones, was sentenced on Monday to 21 years and eight months in federal jail after pleading guilty in the United States to owning equipped weapons and defense to Colombian guerrillas.
Alcalá Cordones, who admitted publicly to having conspired to overthrow Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, been given the prolonged sentence irrespective of agreeing with prosecutors to plead responsible to serving to members of the Innovative Armed Forces of Colombia — identified by its Spanish initials, FARC — in trade for favorable treatment.
Regardless of the offer, prosecutors requested the judge to impose a 30-year sentence, arguing that Alcalá Cordones was a person of the best leaders of the drug trafficking business, the Cartel de los Soles, controlled by the Venezuelan navy and top leaders of Maduro’s socialist regime.
Evidence provided right before sentencing confirmed the previous general benefited economically from playing an energetic position in drug trafficking, receiving at moments $150,000 per shipment. Alcalá Cordones denied acquiring any immediate involvement in the illegal drug trade.
“As a large-rating member of the Venezuelan military and the Cartel de Los Soles, Clíver Antonio Alcalá Cordones and his co-conspirators sought to weaponize cocaine as they helped the FARC arm its members and ship tons of medication to the United States,” claimed U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York.
“Alcalá Cordones corrupted the critical establishments of his possess nation as he aided the FARC flood this country with cocaine — but no for a longer time. Alternatively, he will now expend more than two decades in a United States prison,” Williams said in a push release.
In accordance to U.S. officers, Alcalá Cordones and other substantial-ranking Venezuelan officers served as leaders and administrators of the Soles cartel, making use of their electrical power and impact within the country’s safety equipment to consolidate command of the drug trade inside of the South American region.
The country’s courts and intelligence agencies had been employed to aid the shipment of tons of cocaine to the United States in partnership with the FARC, a guerrilla corporation dedicated to the violent overthrow of the Colombian authorities, the prosecutor’s workplace claimed.
“The Cartel de Los Soles sought not only to enrich its customers and enrich their energy but also to weaponize cocaine by inflicting the drug’s harmful and addictive consequences on end users in the United States,” the Justice Section claimed in push assertion.
The Justice Department mentioned Alcalá’s involvement in the drug trade was tracked back again to the starting of 2006, when he took benefit of his role in the Venezuelan military services to help the FARC as they delivered tons of medication to the United States.
Amongst other matters, Alcalá Cordones secured FARC members from becoming arrested by Venezuelan legislation enforcement or from staying confronted by the Venezuelan armed forces. Those people secured by the former general incorporate top guerrilla leaders Luciano Marín Arango and Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri.
In addition, Alcalá Cordones participated in meetings with some of the biggest drug traffickers in South America, for the duration of which they discussed how he and other users of the cartel could support them in cocaine distribution.
Alcalá Cordones also personally intervened to ensure that law enforcement in Venezuela did not intercept significant cocaine shipments. In trade, Alcalá Cordones gained thousands and thousands of dollars in cocaine-fueled bribes, the push release mentioned.
___
© 2024 Miami Herald
Dispersed by Tribune Information Agency, LLC.