Carvajal's election and Maduro government claims resurface after Trump's statements

Recent statements from the White House regarding Venezuela's alleged hacking of its own voting machines have resurfaced accusations previously made by former Venezuelan military intelligence chief Hugo "El Pollo" Carvajal. In a letter sent to President Donald Trump in December 2025, Carvajal detailed allegations against Venezuela's electoral system, the company Smartmatic, and the government of Nicolás Maduro.

The document, obtained by CNN through Carvajal's lawyer, claims that Smartmatic "was born as an electoral tool of the Venezuelan regime" and that elections "can be rigged with software." However, the letter did not provide specific evidence or identify which electoral processes were allegedly manipulated. Smartmatic has strongly refuted these claims, reiterating that it has never been owned or controlled by the Venezuelan government. The company also stated there is no evidence its technology has been used to alter elections in the United States, noting its systems were only used in Los Angeles County during the 2020 presidential election.

These accusations against Smartmatic have been promoted by Trump allies since the 2020 election. However, a declassified CIA memo from June concluded that the U.S. intelligence community determined in 2006 that Venezuela and Smartmatic lacked the capability to "manipulate the outcome of elections outside of Venezuela."

Beyond the Smartmatic allegations, Carvajal also claimed, without providing proof, that Nicolás Maduro used the criminal organization Tren de Aragua to send criminals, drugs, and spies into the United States. This aligns with some charges currently faced by the Venezuelan president in the U.S. Carvajal asserted that drug trafficking and other illicit activities were "deliberate policies coordinated by the Venezuelan regime against the United States," allegedly beginning under Hugo Chávez and evolving into a structure known as the Cartel of the Suns, which he claims includes Maduro and other high-ranking officials.

Specialists consulted on the matter suggest that the Cartel of the Suns does not exist as a structured criminal organization. Instead, they describe a potentially decentralized network involving members of the Venezuelan armed forces, claims that the Venezuelan government has denied.