By: La Tabla/Platform for Data Journalism September 30, 2025
José Ramiro Cárdenas Iguarán, also known as ‘Titi Iguarán’, the Colombian drug trafficker extradited on March 13, will have his first Status Conference on Tuesday, October 14, at 9:30 a.m. before federal judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell in the Middle District of Florida Court, according to the court’s schedule.
“Titi” gained prominence in Venezuelan politics after the Minister of Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, accused him on August 7 of being the mastermind behind a plan to carry out an explosive attack in a Caracas plaza.
This hearing marks a crucial step in the U.S. judicial process against him. A Status Conference is a pre-trial meeting where prosecutors and defenders review the case’s progress, discuss evidence exchange, assess possible agreements, and set future deadlines. For an extradited individual, it’s a key moment to organize his defense in a foreign legal system.
Venezuelan nationality and dual identity
Cárdenas Iguarán’s defense attempted, unsuccessfully, to prevent his extradition by arguing that he also held Venezuelan nationality. Venezuelan official documents confirm that he possessed a Venezuelan identity card, number V-15.839.996, issued on June 10, 2015.
Also, according to records from the Venezuelan Institute of Social Security (IVSS), Cárdenas Iguarán was registered as an employee of the “Club Gallístico El Wakakeo, C.A.,” a company located in Maracaibo, Zulia state. His affiliation remained active from September 16, 2016, to April 14, 2021, just two months before his capture in Colombia.
The criminal structure: routes and partners
Cárdenas Iguarán, identified as the leader of the ‘Iguarán Clan’, operated a sophisticated cocaine export structure. His organization produced drugs in the Catatumbo region, then stored them in Alta Guajira for dispatch.
The organization managed at least three main maritime routes using fast boats, taking advantage of their knowledge of the area and the complicity of indigenous communities to hide boats and buried cargo in the desert. They operated towards El Morro de Puerto Santo, Venezuela, with partners like the López Batis brothers; towards the Dominican Republic; and towards Honduras, managed by Honduran drug trafficker Rosbin Leonardo Duarte Elvir, who was captured and extradited along with Cárdenas Iguarán.
Connections to political violence in Venezuela
‘Titi Iguarán’s activities transcended drug trafficking. Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, pointed him out on August 7 as the financier behind the failed TNT attack in Plaza Venezuela, Caracas, executed on July 25.
According to the minister’s statements, the connection was made through Francisco Javier Finol Labarca, known as ‘Chichito’, a criminal arrested in Venezuela and linked to the band ‘El Conas’, which has taken credit for explosive attacks in Caracas.
The precedent of Judge Honeywell and possible future scenarios
Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell, who will preside over the case, has a history of severe sentences in drug trafficking cases. In 2023, she sentenced Colombian Oscar Adriano Quintero Rengifo, the “Prince of Semi-Submersibles,” to over 20 years in federal prison.
This precedent suggests a similar or harsher sentence for Cárdenas Iguarán. However, there is the possibility of a judicial negotiation. Analysts believe that U.S. authorities might offer a plea deal in exchange for information that supports the narrative of the alleged “Cartel de los Soles,” and even implicate supposed high-level accomplices within the Venezuelan government.
The case of ‘Titi Iguarán’ reveals the complex coordination of transnational criminal structures, where drug trafficking converges with political interests. His hearing on October 14 will be the first step in a process closely watched by both justice and geopolitics.