Former Venezuelan intelligence chief claims funding for leftist groups in Latin America

Washington, February 2, 2026 – Total News Agency-TNA- The former head of Venezuelan military intelligence, Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal, currently detained in the United States and awaiting trial on charges linked to drug trafficking and terrorism, affirmed before American justice that the Chavist regime financed for more than a decade the campaigns and political movements of leftist groups in various countries of Latin America. This was done using resources from the state oil company PDVSA and circuits associated with organized crime. According to statements attributed to Carvajal, the scheme would have operated systematically for at least fifteen years, under the governments of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, combining state funds, illegal income, and money laundering mechanisms to sustain politically aligned projects with Chavism. The progress of the judicial process in the United States could provide new elements that deepen investigations in various countries in the region, including Argentina. Carvajal described a close political relationship that, according to him, included indirect financial support during campaigns and key stages of the Kirchnerist governments. In addition to Argentina, the former intelligence chief mentioned other regional leaders and political figures, including Gustavo Petro, Fernando Lugo, Ollanta Humala, Manuel Zelaya, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Evo Morales, and Rafael Correa, as part of a regional strategy for expanding political influence financed from Caracas. Carvajal stated that the relationship between Caracas and Buenos Aires was strategic and sustained over time, not only politically and diplomatically, but also through monetary flows that, according to his version, escaped formal controls. Carvajal's statements revive long-questioned episodes in Argentine politics, including the Antonini Wilson suitcase scandal, which occurred in 2007, when a Venezuelan businessman entered the country with nearly $800,000 in cash from Venezuela on a flight shared by Argentine and Venezuelan officials. In this context, the former official described the systematic use of cash as a central tool to avoid banking tracking and international controls, especially after the imposition of economic sanctions against Venezuela. While judicial sources indicate that Carvajal's testimony is considered relevant and consistent with previous investigations into corruption and money laundering in Venezuela, they also emphasize that many of his statements still need to be corroborated with documentary evidence and other testimonies. Nevertheless, the statements from the former intelligence chief once again place the political and financial link between Chavism and several Latin American governments, such as Mexico's, under scrutiny and reinforce suspicions about the use of Venezuelan state companies as tools for international political financing. The former official maintained that the money was “laundered through PDVSA” and then taken out of Venezuela “in suitcases with cash,” taking advantage of diplomatic channels and opaque financial transport structures. In that context, Carvajal pointed out that a significant portion of those funds would have had Argentina as its destination during the governments of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, whom he placed within the regional political network benefited from the financial backing of Chavism. Although that case never resulted in convictions against the Kirchners, Carvajal maintained that the episode was not an isolated fact, but part of a broader operation of regional political financing. According to his testimony, PDVSA would have been used as a key platform to channel resources to allied governments, through contracts, energy agreements, overpricing, and covert transfers, with the objective of consolidating a regional political axis favorable to Chavism. Sources: Federal prosecutor's offices of the United States; judicial statements of Hugo Carvajal; judicial records of the Antonini Wilson case; reports from the international press; investigations on PDVSA and regional political financing.