Hugo "El Pollo" Carvajal: what the documents say

01

He pleaded guilty a week before trial

At the hearing, the prosecutor put it this way: "It is a week or less than a week before trial." Carvajal admitted all four counts: narco-terrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, possession of machine guns and conspiracy to possess them.

Source: Hugo Carvajal's guilty plea hearing, June 25, 2025 (transcript, 33 pages)

02

What he admitted, in his own words

The indictments speak of "machineguns and destructive devices". At the hearing he said it in the first person: the FARC, terrorism and "a machine gun".

“I admit that I conspired with others to possess with the intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine knowingly and with the intention to provide something of value to the group known as FARC, and I knew that the FARC was involved in terrorist activities.”

Source: Hugo Carvajal's guilty plea hearing, June 25, 2025 (transcript, 33 pages)

03

The question he did not answer

Judge Hellerstein asked him directly whether he had been one of the leaders of the Cartel de los Soles. His lawyer objected before he answered, the judge accepted the objection and the hearing moved on. There is no answer on the record.

“THE COURT: OK. Were you one of the leaders of management that manages the cartel known as Cartel de Los Soles organization in Venezuela? MR. FEITEL: Your Honor, as to this, I would like to object. These are questions that — THE COURT: OK. I accept.”

Source: Hugo Carvajal's guilty plea hearing, June 25, 2025 (transcript, 33 pages)

04

He corrected the judge

When the judge asked whether he had again led military intelligence after 2013, he answered:

“No, military counterintelligence, which is something completely different.”

Source: Hugo Carvajal's guilty plea hearing, June 25, 2025 (transcript, 33 pages)

05

From lead role to footnote

In the 2020 indictment his name appears 34 times, as often as Cabello's. In the 2026 one, where he is no longer a defendant, it appears 7 times. At the hearing, the government also said it might seek restitution for a victim who, it said, had been tortured.

Source: Hugo Carvajal's guilty plea hearing, June 25, 2025 (transcript, 33 pages)