The Dallas Express has received an exclusive second letter addressed to President Donald Trump from retired Major General Cliver Antonio Alcalá Cordones, a former high-ranking commander of the Venezuelan armed forces who served under Hugo Chávez. Alcalá claims he requested retirement when Nicolás Maduro took power because he was, “very clear that a leader of a criminal gang was taking power.”
Alcalá, who has been detained in the United States since 2020 after voluntarily surrendering in Colombia, pleaded guilty in a U.S. federal court to providing material support to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) concerning arms trafficking. He now claims he is coming forward to expose what he describes as a transnational criminal structure directed from within the Venezuelan government.
He sent the letter to The Dallas Express through a member of his legal team, as reported by the publication.
Dated December 8, 2025, the letter alleges that Venezuela’s ruling apparatus—often associated with the Cartel of the Suns—is controlled by brothers Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez, whom Alcalá calls the true masterminds behind the regime.
The Dallas Express has not independently verified the accusations contained in the letter.
The DX Report
Retired Major General Clíver Alcalá alleges that the Cartel of the Suns is led by brothers Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez, not by Maduro or Cabello.
He claims that Maduro expanded the criminal gang Tren de Aragua and exported its operatives abroad, even to the United States.
He asserts that Venezuelan officials used parallel voting systems linked to Smartmatic to alter electoral outcomes.
Alcalá describes deepened ties between Maduro, the IRGC, Hezbollah, and Cuban intelligence.
He claims regime officials boasted privately about their influence over certain U.S. lawmakers.
Alcalá states he is willing to testify before U.S. authorities regarding drug trafficking, illegal mining, foreign intelligence operations, and alleged electoral manipulation.
A Rare Warning from the Former Military Elite of Venezuela
Alcalá served over three decades in the Venezuelan Armed Forces, achieving the rank of Major General. In 2011, he oversaw the military takeover of the Tocorón prison, home to the leaders of what would become the Tren de Aragua. In the letter, he writes of facing political pressures from officials seeking to protect criminal leaders within the prison.
After Chávez’s death in 2013 and Maduro’s rise to power, Alcalá says he requested retirement, publicly broke ties with the regime, fled to Colombia, and ultimately surrendered to U.S. authorities in 2020.
The new letter represents his most extensive account of what he describes as the criminal, political, and foreign policy networks sustaining Maduro’s control in Venezuela.
DX Connects Two High-Level Venezuelan Defectors
Alcalá’s letter comes just days after another high-ranking Venezuelan official, former military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal Barrios, sent a separate warning letter to President Donald Trump, also exclusively obtained by The Dallas Express.
Though the two men served in different branches of Venezuela’s national security apparatus and under different circumstances, both—now imprisoned in the United States—describe Venezuela as a criminal enterprise that, they assert, threatens U.S. national security.
DX has not independently verified the allegations made in either letter.
Background of Sentencing by the Justice Department
Alcalá was sentenced in April 2024 to 260 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to providing material support to the FARC, including supplying firearms and protecting cocaine shipments, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Federal prosecutors stated he used his position as a high-ranking Venezuelan general and member of the Cartel of the Suns to protect traffickers, facilitate large drug shipments to the U.S., and supply arms to high-ranking FARC leaders.
A Key Excerpt from Alcalá’s Letter
The two most important figures in this entire criminal network are the brothers Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez. With a deliberately discreet and calculated public profile, they are the true Machiavellian masterminds behind the cartel corporation known as the Cartel of the Suns.
Rodríguez Brothers Described as “True Controllers” of the Regime
Alcalá writes that Delcy Rodríguez, vice president of Venezuela, and Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, effectively control Nicolás Maduro and Diosdado Cabello. He claims the brothers oversee networks that allow the regime to maintain power despite sanctions, internal corruption, and international pressure.
Tren de Aragua: From Prison Gang to Transnational Criminal Network
Alcalá describes the military intervention in the Tocorón prison in 2011 as crucial to understanding the nexus between cartels and politics.
According to the letter:
The first leaders of the Tren de Aragua operated from within Tocorón prison.
Chávez sent Antonio “Potro” Álvarez to coordinate directly with imprisoned gang leaders.
Prisons served as arms depots and command centers.
Criminal leaders were instructed to control the voting patterns of inmates.
Some criminals, including corrupt union leaders from a Chinese-funded railway project, later became involved in Tren de Aragua’s external operations.
He claims that Nicolás Maduro expanded the gang’s activities and exported their operatives to other countries, including the United States.
Allegations of Electoral Manipulation Involving Smartmatic
Alcalá’s letter alleges:
General Carlos Quintero, a military intelligence officer and current vice president of the National Electoral Council, directed electoral manipulation.
Parallel voting systems linked to Smartmatic were allegedly used to alter election results.
Manipulation occurred in areas without opposition observers.
Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez oversaw the entire operation.
He does not allege specific interference in U.S. elections but claims the technology “can be manipulated” and was used to commit fraud within Venezuela.
Links Between Iran, Hezbollah, and Cuban Intelligence
Alcalá writes that Maduro:
Was trained and influenced by Cuban intelligence.
Managed delicate relations with Iran, including the IRGC and Hezbollah.
Deepened intelligence and operational cooperation with foreign actors hostile to U.S. interests.
Claims of Influence Operations Targeting U.S. Officials
He asserts that during his 2007 mission in Carabobo, he realized that Venezuelan officials bragged about their influence over certain U.S. lawmakers.
The letter does not identify specific individuals.
Drug Trafficking and Illegal Mining
Alcalá alleges that drug trafficking and illegal mining in the Orinoco Mining Arc functioned as linked sources of income for high-ranking regime officials.
He writes that:
Gold and diamonds were used to launder money arising from drug trafficking.
Maduro’s son played a role in controlling operations in the mining region.
The Cartel of the Suns maintained oversight of drug and mining exports.
He claims he is willing to testify before U.S. authorities on these matters.
Complete Letter from Alcalá
Page 1 of the letter from Major General Cliver Alcalá Cordones dated December 8, 2025, to President Donald Trump, provided to The Dallas Express through a member of his legal team.Page 2 of the letter from Major General Cliver Alcalá Cordones describing allegations regarding Tren de Aragua and prison-based criminal networks.Page 3 of the letter from Major General Cliver Alcalá Cordones detailing accusations of electoral manipulation, foreign alliances, and illicit mining operations.
Published exactly as received. DX has not independently verified the claims.
LETTER FROM MAJOR GENERAL CLIVER ANTONIO ALCALÁ CORDONES TO PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP
United States of America
December 8, 2025
(Below is the full text, reproduced exactly as in the translated PDF, preserving the wording, capitalization, and structure).
Date: December 8, 2025
To: The President of the United States of America, Mr. Donald J. Trump, and the American people.
From: Major General Cliver Antonio Alcalá Cordones
Subject: Information of interest for the national security and foreign policy of the United States
Mr. President and citizens of the United States of America:
My name is Cliver Antonio Alcalá Cordones, retired Major General of the Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. I address you with respect and a spirit of cooperation to share information I consider relevant to the national security of the United States and to understanding the criminal and political dynamics of my country, which extend beyond its borders. I have been detained in the United States since March 2020, after voluntarily surrendering to agents of this country while in Colombian territory. I am currently incarcerated in a federal penitentiary in Maryland, serving time after pleading guilty to two charges for providing assistance to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Following direct orders from my then-superior, Hugo Chávez, I committed a grave mistake that I will regret for the rest of my life.
Today I wish to provide information about the criminal structure that dictatorially governs Venezuela, currently publicly known as the Cartel of the Suns. Two key figures in this extensive criminal network are brothers Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez. With a deliberately discreet and calculated public profile, they are the true Machiavellian masterminds behind the leaders of the cartel corporation known as the Cartel of the Suns. They are the true controllers of Nicolás Maduro and Diosdado Cabello. The regime’s survival in power is largely due to these two individuals.
Delcy Rodríguez is the current vice president of the country, and her brother Jorge Rodríguez is the current president of Venezuela’s National Assembly.
Tren de Aragua
I served in my country’s army for 34 years. In 2011, while stationed in Aragua, I led the military takeover of the Tocorón prison. Despite political pressure from some members of the Venezuelan government to prevent the operation, I carried it out and seized control of the facility, resulting in the death of 16 criminals. The leaders of the criminal group now known as Tren de Aragua were housed in that prison. The then Minister of Sports, Antonio Enrique Álvarez Cisneros, better known as “Potro” Álvarez, was sent by Chávez to have direct contact and coordinate with the imprisoned criminal leaders.
After Chávez’s death in 2013 and Nicolás Maduro’s takeover, I requested my retirement from the army despite offers to continue, because I was unwilling to serve under his command. I was very clear that a leader of a criminal gang was taking power. From that moment on, it became public knowledge that I became a staunch opponent of dictator Maduro.
With his political consolidation, the prison criminal structures were strengthened under his control: there were direct communications from the prisons to him, with Potro Álvarez acting as a facilitator to link with prison leaders; even instructions were given to those leaders to control the voting of inmates in elections, while criminals moved back and forth to commit crimes and prisons functioned as depots for arms and other illegal items.
Some of those criminals, including corrupt union leaders linked to a railway project financed by China, are part of the group now known as Tren de Aragua, which has been used by Maduro for his criminal ends ever since.
Nicolás Maduro, trained and influenced in Cuba, employed these criminal strategies from prisons for his own benefit, replicating the practices he learned in that country. Maduro’s government exported this criminal organization to other countries, including the United States.
Electoral Frauds
In the electoral realm, Army General Carlos Quintero—a member of Venezuelan military intelligence—and current vice president of the National Electoral Council (CNE) has been responsible for electoral fraud. General Quintero was the engineer in charge of the Venezuelan electoral technology Smartmatic, used to carry out the frauds. Most elections in Venezuela have been manipulated by Maduro’s government. I am aware of the use of parallel Smartmatic voting systems to alter results, especially in places without opposition representatives, making it difficult to detect irregularities. This is the same technology used in other countries, including the United States, by the Smartmatic company. The controllers of this entire system are the brothers Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez.
Relations with Iran
Regarding Venezuelan foreign policy, the relationship with Iran has historically been close. Maduro deepened cooperation with Iran as a strategic partner for Venezuela. He maintained and managed the most sensitive relations (IRGC and Hezbollah) with Iran since he was Hugo Chávez’s chancellor.
Relations with the United States
In terms of intelligence and relations with the United States, there were close ties between the supreme power core of Venezuela (Nicolás Maduro, Diosdado Cabello, Jorge Rodríguez, Delcy Rodríguez) and U.S. congressmen. Maduro and his accomplices boasted of their supposed control over these congressmen. I learned of this information in 2007 when I was transferred to Carabobo state, where I met several congressmen who were members of that group.
Drug Trafficking and Illegal Mining
Finally, drug trafficking and illegal mining, two of the most significant criminal activities of the Venezuelan regime in power, were widely known for the involvement of government leaders in this criminal activity in various ways. I publicly accused Nicolás Maduro’s government of embezzling Venezuela’s minerals, including gold and diamonds, as well as other rare strategic minerals, specifically in the region known as the Orinoco Mining Arc. Nicolás Maduro even used his son to control illegal activities in that geographic area. These were complementary criminal activities. Gold and diamonds were key products in the money-laundering mechanism of drug trafficking carried out by what is now known as the Cartel of the Suns.
I am willing to testify about these and other matters within my personal knowledge that may be of interest to the United States government.
The government of dictator Nicolás Maduro and his Cartel of the Suns undoubtedly pose a threat to U.S. national security and other neighboring nations.
They are, of course, also responsible for the destruction of my beloved homeland.
I appreciate your attention and determination in seeking the restoration of democracy in Venezuela. It is public knowledge that I too attempted to do so on more than one occasion and put my life at risk for it, forcing me to live in exile in Colombia. Without a doubt, I would do it again. It is an unshakeable commitment to my country and its constitution.
I remain at your disposal to collaborate extensively with your government in order to contribute to the security and justice of your country and mine.
Sincerely,
Clíver Antonio Alcalá Cordones
Date: December 8, 2025
What Comes Next?
Alcalá writes that he is “willing to testify” regarding intelligence operations, electoral manipulation, criminal activity, and foreign policy relations involving the governing structure of Venezuela.
If federal authorities determine that his cooperation constitutes substantial assistance, this could impact the remainder of his sentence. Any corroboration of his claims could influence current U.S. policy towards Venezuela, the Cartel of the Suns, and transnational criminal organizations operating throughout the Western Hemisphere.
The Dallas Express