EXCLUSIVE: Letter To Trump 2 – How Maduro Exported Tren de Aragua To U.S.

The Dallas Express has obtained a second exclusive letter addressed to President Donald Trump from retired Major General Cliver Antonio Alcalá Cordones, a former high-ranking commander in Venezuela’s armed forces who served under Hugo Chávez but claims he requested retirement when Nicolás Maduro took power because “it was very clear a criminal gang leader was taking power.”

Alcalá — detained in the United States since 2020 after voluntarily surrendering in Colombia — pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to providing material support to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in connection with arms trafficking. He now claims he is coming forward to expose what he describes as a transnational criminal structure directed from inside Venezuela’s government.

Alcalá sent the letter to The Dallas Express through a member of his legal team, according to information provided to the publication.

The letter, dated December 8, 2025, alleges that the country’s ruling apparatus — commonly associated with the Cartel de los Soles — is controlled by siblings Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez, whom he calls the regime’s real “masterminds.”

The Dallas Express has not independently verified the allegations contained in the letter.

The DX Brief

• Retired Major General Cliver Alcalá alleges that the Cartel de los Soles is led by siblings Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez, not Maduro or Cabello
• He claims Maduro expanded the criminal gang Tren de Aragua and exported its operatives abroad, including into the United States
• He alleges Venezuelan officials used parallel Smartmatic-linked voting systems to alter election outcomes
• He describes deepened ties between Maduro, the IRGC, Hezbollah, and Cuban intelligence
• He says regime officials privately boasted about influence over certain U.S. lawmakers
• Alcalá states he is willing to testify before U.S. authorities about drug trafficking, illegal mining, foreign intelligence operations, and alleged electoral manipulation

A Rare Warning From Inside Venezuela’s Former Military Elite

Alcalá served more than three decades in Venezuela’s armed forces, rising to the rank of Major General. In 2011, he oversaw the military takeover of Tocorón prison, where leaders of what would later become Tren de Aragua were housed. In the letter, he writes that he faced political pressure from officials seeking to protect criminal leaders inside the facility.

After Chávez’s death in 2013 and Maduro’s rise to power, Alcalá says he requested retirement, publicly broke 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 underpinning Maduro’s control of Venezuela.

DX Links the 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 obtained exclusively by The Dallas Express.

Although the men served in different branches of Venezuela’s national security structure and under different circumstances, both — now imprisoned in the United States — describe Venezuela as a criminal enterprise they say threatens U.S. national security.

DX has not independently verified the allegations raised in either letter.

DOJ Sentencing Background

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 said he used his position as a high-ranking Venezuelan general and member of the Cartel de los Soles to shield traffickers, facilitate large drug shipments bound for the United States, and provide weapons to senior FARC leaders.

A Key Excerpt From Alcalá’s Letter

“The two key most important figures in this entire criminal network are the siblings Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez. With a deliberately low and calculated public profile, they are the true Machiavellian masterminds behind the cartel corporation known as the Cartel de los Soles.”

Rodríguez Siblings Described as “True Controllers” of the Regime

Alcalá writes that Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s vice president, and Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, effectively control Nicolás Maduro and Diosdado Cabello. He alleges the siblings oversee the 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 2011 military intervention at Tocorón prison as central to understanding the cartel-politics nexus.

According to the letter:

• Tren de Aragua’s early leaders operated from inside Tocorón prison
• Chávez sent Antonio “Potro” Álvarez to coordinate directly with imprisoned gang leaders
• Prisons served as weapons depots and command centers
• Criminal leaders were instructed to control inmate voting patterns
• Some criminals, including union leaders from a Chinese-funded rail project, later became part of Tren de Aragua’s external operations
• He alleges Nicolás Maduro expanded the gang’s activities and exported its operatives to other countries, including the United States.

Electoral Manipulation Allegations Involving Smartmatic

Alcalá’s letter alleges that:

• General Carlos Quintero, a military intelligence officer and current vice president of the National Electoral Council, directed election manipulation
• Parallel Smartmatic-linked voting systems 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 U.S. election interference but claims the technology “can be rigged” and was used to commit fraud inside Venezuela.

Iran, Hezbollah, and Cuban Intelligence Ties

Alcalá writes that Maduro:

• Was trained and influenced by Cuban intelligence
• Managed sensitive relationships 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 states that during his 2007 assignment in Carabobo, he became aware that Venezuelan officials were boasting about their influence over certain American 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 revenue streams for senior regime figures.

He writes that:

• Gold and diamonds were used to launder drug proceeds
• Maduro’s son played a role in controlling operations in the mining region
• The Cartel de los Soles maintained oversight of narcotics and mining exports
• He states he is willing to testify before U.S. authorities about these matters.

Alcalá’s Letter in Full

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

(The full, verbatim text follows — reproduced exactly as in the translated PDF, preserving wording, capitalization, and structure.)

Date: 8 December 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 in a spirit of cooperation to share information that I consider relevant to the national security of the United States and to the understanding of criminal and political dynamics in my country that extend beyond its borders. I have been detained in the United States since March 2020, aPer voluntarily surrendering to agents of this country while in Colombian territory. I am currently held in a federal correctional facility in the state of Maryland, serving sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of having provided assistance to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). By following direct orders from my then-superior Hugo Chávez, I committed a huge 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 known publicly as the Cartel de los Soles. Two key figures in this enGre criminal network are the siblings Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez. With a deliberately low and calculated public profile, they are the true Machiavellian masterminds behind the leaders of the cartels corporation known as the Cartel de los Soles. They are the real 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 the National Assembly of Venezuela.

Tren de Aragua

I served in my country’s army for 34 years. In 2011, while stationed in the state of Aragua, I led the military takeover of Tocoón prison. Despite political pressure from some members of the Venezuelan government to prevent the operaGon, I carried it out and took military control of the facility, resulGng in the deaths of 16 criminals. The leaders of the criminal group now known as Tren de Aragua were being held in that prison. The then-Minister of Sports, Antonio Enrique Álvarez Cisneros—better known as “Potro” Ávarez—was sent by Chávez to have direct contact and coordinate the criminal leaders in those prisons.

After Chávez’s death in 2013 and Nicolás Maduro’s assumption of power, I requested my retirement from the army despite offers to continue, because I was unwilling to serve under his command. It was very clear to me that a criminal gang leader was taking power. From that moment on, it became public knowledge that I became a staunch opponent of the dictator Maduro.

With his political consolidation, the prison-based criminal structures were strengthened under his control: there were direct communications from the prisons to him, with Potro Álvarez acting as the facilitator of links with prison leaders; instructions were even given to those leaders to control inmates’ votes in elections, while criminals came and went to commit crimes and the prisons functioned as weapons and other illegal elements’ depots.

Some of those criminals—including corrupt union leaders linked to a Chinese-funded Aragua– Carabobo railway project—form part of the group now known as Tren de Aragua, which has been used by Maduro for his criminal purposes ever since.

Nicolás Maduro, trained and formed in Cuba, used these criminal schemes from the prisons for personal gain, replicating practices he learned in that country. Nicolás Maduro’s government exported this criminal organization to other countries, including the United States of America.

Electoral Frauds

In the electoral sphere, Army General Carlos Quintero—a member of Venezuelan military intelligence—and current vice president of the National Electoral Council (CNE) has been responsible for committing electoral fraud. General Quintero was the engineer in charge of Venezuela’s Smartmatic electoral technology 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 locaGons without opposition party representatives, making irregularities difficult to detect. This is the same technology used in other countries including USA by the company Smartmatic. The controllers of this entire system are the siblings Jorge and Delcy Rodríguez.

Relations with Iran

Regarding Venezuelan foreign policy, the relationship with Iran has been historically close. Maduro deepened cooperation with Iran as a strategic partner for Venezuela. Maduro maintained and managed the most sensitive relations (IRGC and Hezbollah) with Iran since he was Hugo Chavez’s foreign minister.

Relations with the United States

In terms of intelligence and relations with the United States, there were close ties between the current supreme core of Venezuelan power (Nicolás Maduro, Diosdado Cabello, Jorge Rodríguez, Delcy Rodríguez) and American congressmen. Maduro and his accomplices boasted about the supposed control they exercised over these congressmen. I learned this information in 2007 when I was transferred to the state of Carabobo, where I met with several congressmen who were members of that group.

Drug Trafficking and Illegal Mining

Finally, drug trafficking and illegal mining, as two of the most important criminal activities of the Venezuelan regime in power. It was widely known that government leaders were involved in this criminal activity in various ways. I publicly accused Nicolás Maduro’s government of embezzling Venezuela’s minerals, including gold and diamonds, but also other rare strategic minerals, specifically in the region named Arco Minero del Orinoco. Nicolás Maduro even used his son to control the illegal activities in that geographic area. These were complementary criminal activities. Gold and diamonds served as a key commodities in the money-laundering mechanism of the drug trafficking carried out by what is now known as the Cartel de los Soles.

I am willing to testify about these and other matters within my personal knowledge that may be of interest to the government of the United States.

The government of the dictator Nicolás Maduro and his Cartel de los Soles undoubtedly represent a threat to the national security of the United States of America and other neighboring nations.

They are also, of course, responsible for having destroyed my beloved homeland.

I thank you for your attention and your determination in pursuing the restoration of democracy in Venezuela. It is public knowledge that I also attempted this more than once 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 unwavering commitment to my country and its constitution.

I remain at your disposal to collaborate broadly with your government, with the aim of contributing to the security and justice of your country and mine

Sincerely,

Cliver Antonio Alcalá Cordones

Date: December 8, 2025

What Comes Next

Alcalá writes that he is “willing to testify” about intelligence operations, electoral manipulation, criminal activity, and foreign-policy relationships involving Venezuela’s ruling structure.

If federal authorities determine that his cooperation provides substantial assistance, it could affect the remainder of his sentence. Any corroboration of his claims could influence ongoing U.S. policy toward Venezuela, the Cartel de los Soles, and transnational criminal organizations operating across the Western Hemisphere.

This is a developing story. The Dallas Express will continue to report updates as they become available.