MEXICO CITY—Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro had long seemed untouchable despite a $50 million bounty on his head and a U.S. indictment unsealed in 2020 accusing him of narco-terrorism. Prosecutors said the “massive-scale” drug-trafficking concentrated power and wealth in the hands of Maduro and his family. The superseding indictment says Maduro “tarnished every public office he has held,” accusing him of moving loads of cocaine as a legislator of Venezuela’s national assembly. Two other alleged members of the Cartel of the Suns are already in American prisons, and could testify against Maduro. The U.S. accuses other senior Venezuelan leaders of taking part in the alleged Cartel of the Suns conspiracy.

Source: Wall Street Journal January 04, 2026 00:49 UTC