From left: Hugo Carvajal Barrios, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and U.S. President Donald Trump. / Photos courtesy of Wikipedia StringerAL/Shutterstock, lev radin/Shutterstock Captured from Dallas Express Online

Finally, the last piece of the puzzle has fallen into place. 

It has been revealed that a former top intelligence official in Venezuela confessed in a letter, delivered on the 2nd (local time) to U.S. President Donald Trump, that the "Venezuelan regime engaged in espionage and election fraud in the United States." 

Recently, independent journalist Emerald Robinson, formerly of the conservative U.S. media outlet Newsmax, has alluded to an international election fraud cartel linked to the 2020 and 2024 U.S. presidential elections, mentioning a Venezuelan whistleblower and the international connections of the "Smartmatic" system. However, this is the first time a document has been released where a key confidant of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro has directly exposed the shocking reality.

According to an exclusive report by the prominent U.S. daily Dallas Express (DX) on the 3rd, the ugly face of the Chávez and Maduro regimes has been fully exposed. They had consolidated their dictatorial system in Venezuela by enjoying diplomatic benefits through cooperation with international anti-democratic forces, exporting tools for election fraud such as Smartmatic to the U.S. and other countries.

In its article dated the 3rd, titled "Exclusive: Former Maduro Intelligence Chief's Letter to Trump, Intended to Expose Drug War Against the U.S.," DX reported that former Military Intelligence Director Hugo Carvajal Barrios admitted in a revealing letter sent to the White House that "the Venezuelan regime participated in election fraud and Maduro operates a 'drug terrorist organization'."

This letter was recently obtained by DX from attorney Robert F. Pitman, former U.S. Department of Justice senior prosecutor and legal representative of former director Carvajal.

Carvajal, a key figure in Maduro's inner circle and knowledgeable about Venezuela's shady dealings orchestrated since the Chávez era, was arrested in Spain in 2019 following an arrest warrant issued by the U.S. for drug trafficking charges in 2011. However, he disappeared after the Spanish court decided on his extradition. The U.S. spared no effort to regain custody, offering a $10 million reward, and recaptured him in 2021. He was finally extradited to the U.S. in 2023 and faced a U.S. court.

Carvajal reportedly experienced a significant change of heart after the Trump administration took office this year. In June, he pleaded guilty in federal court, issuing a strong initial warning that Venezuela had intentionally operated a "drug terrorist organization" targeting the U.S.

Furthermore, his recent letter to the White House served as a second warning regarding Venezuela's involvement in U.S. election fraud, making him the first former high-ranking Venezuelan official to officially record the suspicions that had been circulating as fact in government documents, the newspaper reported.

In his recent letter to President Trump, former director Carvajal stated his intention to write the letter to "atone" and warn Americans about the "systematic state-sponsored campaign by Venezuela" targeting the U.S., after the U.S. had pursued extensive international extradition efforts to bring him back from Spain.

Specifically, he delivered a shocking revelation in this letter: "Smartmatic was developed in Venezuela as a tool for election manipulation and was subsequently exported overseas, including to the United States."

Carvajal stated, "I am well aware of this because I appointed the IT director of the National Electoral Council (CNE) to that position, and he reported directly to me. It is a clear fact that the Smartmatic system can manipulate elections."

He added, "Regime agents maintain relationships with electoral officials and voting machine companies in their home country. While I am not claiming that every election was rigged, it is clear that elections can be manipulated with this software, and it has indeed been used for such purposes."

Dominion, criticized as an election manipulation tool, is distributed in the U.S. in 2019. Photo by Reporter Heo GyeomPreviously, prominent influencers tracking election fraud in the U.S., such as former Newsmax reporter Robinson, had claimed that Smartmatic of Venezuela and Dominion, a U.S. voting system supplier, are linked, and that associates of George Soros, Mark Malloch Brown, and the Venezuelan Maduro regime were involved in developing the Smartmatic system as a tool for fraudulent voting.

This corroborates reporter Robinson's claim that election fraud tools developed in Venezuela were used to manipulate the outcome of U.S. presidential elections, now supported by the shocking written confession of Venezuela's former military intelligence chief.

Furthermore, in his letter, former director Carvajal also revealed that "Venezuelan and Cuban intelligence agencies have infiltrated U.S. institutions, including military facilities, for the past 20 years."

He stated, "Cuban intelligence agencies have dispatched thousands of spies over decades, some of whom have become politicians. U.S. diplomats and CIA agents received money to support Chávez and Maduro in maintaining power. These Americans acted as spies for Cuba and Venezuela, and some are still active today."

Additionally, according to the letter exclusively reported by DX, Carvajal claimed that the Maduro regime weaponized cocaine and collaborated with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army (ELN), Cuban intelligence, and Hezbollah, exporting violent criminal networks, including Tren de Aragua, to the United States.

Carvajal expressed his support for President Trump's Venezuela policy, stating that it is "not only just but also essential and proportionate to the threat," and indicated his willingness to provide further details to federal authorities.

Meanwhile, former President Chávez, who died in 2013, transformed Venezuela from a staunchly pro-U.S. nation in South America into an anti-U.S. country. He was once hailed as Venezuela's savior but is still widely criticized posthumously for his numerous failures, which led to U.S. economic sanctions and plunged Venezuela into the worst economic collapse in Latin America.

The letter from Hugo Carvajal, exclusively obtained by DX from his legal representative and former U.S. Department of Justice senior prosecutor, Robert F. Pitman. The letter was delivered to President Trump on the 2nd. Dallas Express

The following is the full text of the letter sent by former Military Intelligence Director Carvajal to President Trump.

To President Trump and the People of the United States,

My name is Hugo Carvajal Barrios. I was a high-ranking official in the Venezuelan regime for a long time. I was a three-star general trusted by Presidents Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, and I served as Director of Military Intelligence and as a Member of Parliament. 

Today, I am imprisoned in the United States, indicted on charges of drug trafficking conspiracy. I write this letter to atone by revealing all the truth, so that the United States can protect itself from the dangers I have long witnessed.

In 2017, I publicly broke with the Maduro regime and left my country, knowing I could face criminal charges in the United States. By doing so, I became their enemy. 

Aware of the risks, I acted with the firm conviction of dismantling Maduro's criminal regime and bringing freedom to my country. Today, I feel it is necessary to inform the American people about the reality of the Venezuelan regime and why President Trump's policies are not only just but also absolutely essential for U.S. national security. 

Drug Terrorism

I directly witnessed how the Hugo Chávez government transformed into a criminal organization operated by Nicolás Maduro, Diosdado Cabello, and other high-ranking regime officials. 

The purpose of this organization, now known as the "Cartel of the Sun," is to weaponize drugs against the United States. The drugs entering your cities through new routes were not accidental corruption or the work of simple traffickers. They were a deliberately coordinated policy of the Venezuelan regime against the U.S. 

This plan was proposed to Chávez by the Cuban regime in the mid-2000s and was successfully executed with the help of FARC, ELN, Cuban agents, and Hezbollah. The Cuban regime provided weapons, passports, and immunity from prosecution to these terrorist organizations, allowing them to operate freely in Venezuela against the U.S. 

Tren de Aragua

I was present when the decision was made to organize and weaponize criminal gangs to protect the regime throughout Venezuela. Among them was the organization known as Tren de Aragua. Chávez ordered the recruitment of criminal gang leaders, both inside and outside prisons, to defend the "revolution," in exchange for immunity from prosecution. 

After Chávez's death, Maduro expanded this strategy, targeting Venezuelan political exiles and exporting crime and chaos abroad to artificially reduce crime statistics within Venezuela. 

Gang leaders were ordered to expel thousands of their members abroad. This was coordinated through the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Prisons, National Guard, and Police. Tren de Aragua became the most effective and fastest-growing organization. 

When the Biden-Harris open border policy became widely known, they seized the opportunity to send these operatives to the United States. Now, they have armed agents subservient to the U.S. territory. 

To fund their operations, they were explicitly instructed to continue kidnapping, extortion, and murder. Every crime they commit on your territory is at the command of the regime. 

Counterintelligence and Espionage Against the U.S.

I was present when Russian intelligence approached Hugo Chávez in Caracas and proposed to tap into U.S. government communications by intercepting undersea internet cables connecting most of South America and Caribbean islands to the U.S. 

In 2015, I warned Maduro that if he allowed Russian intelligence to build and operate a secret listening base on La Orchila island, it would eventually lead to a U.S. bombing. He ignored my advice. 

The Venezuelan regime has been sending spies to your country for 20 years. Many are still in your country, some disguised as Venezuelan opposition members. 

Cuban intelligence showed us the network inside your country's naval bases on the East Coast. They boasted about sending thousands of spies over decades, some of whom have now become professional politicians. 

U.S. diplomats and CIA agents were paid to help Chávez and Maduro maintain power. These Americans acted as spies for Cuba and Venezuela, and some are still active today. 

Smartmatic and U.S. Elections

Smartmatic was born as an election tool for the Venezuelan regime, but it soon transformed into a tool for the regime's perpetual power. I am well aware of this because I appointed the IT director of the National Electoral Council (CNE) to that position, and he reported directly to me. It is a clear fact that the Smartmatic system can be manipulated. This technology was later exported overseas, including to the United States. 

Regime agents maintain relationships with electoral officials and voting machine companies in their home country. While I am not claiming that every election was rigged, it is clear that elections can be manipulated with this software, and it has indeed been used for such purposes. 

Do not misunderstand how threatening it is for a drug terrorist organization to roam freely throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, doing everything possible to harm American citizens. 

This is about financing anti-Americanism throughout the continent and helping other terrorist organizations and enemies of the U.S. operate in Venezuela and now within your borders. 

The regime I served is not merely hostile; it is waging war against you by weaponizing drugs, gangs, spies, and even your democratic processes. 

President Trump's policy towards the criminal Maduro regime is not only just but also essential and proportionate to the threat it represents. 

He may be underestimating how far the regime is willing to go to maintain power. They have contingency plans to never relinquish control, preparing for every extreme situation. 

I fully support President Trump's policy on Venezuela. It is an act of self-defense, and he is acting based on the truth. I am prepared to provide further details on this matter to the U.S. government. 

HUGO CARVAJAL BARRIOS

United States, December 2, 2025

Heo Gyeom · Lim Yohee Reporters