New York: A retired three-star Venezuelan army general who twice attempted coups against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was jailed for more than 21 years on Monday after admitting to providing arms to drug-funded rebels. was sentenced.
Cleaver Alcala, 62, of Caracas, Venezuela, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein was sentenced last year after pleading guilty to charges that he supported a terrorist group and provided weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC – considered by the US to be a foreign terrorist organization.
Prosecutors had sought a 30-year prison sentence, saying he accepted millions of dollars in cocaine-laced bribes. His lawyers had requested a six-year sentence. Hellerstein ordered him to spend 21 years and eight months in prison.In a release after the sentencing, US Attorney Damien Williams said that Alcalá and his co-conspirators tried to weaponize cocaine by helping the FARC with weapons as tons of the drug were shipped to the United States.
He said that Alcalá "corrupted the vital institutions of his own country because he helped the FARC flood this country with cocaine – but not anymore. Instead, he is serving more than two decades in a United States prison. Will not spend."
Prosecutors said Alcalá began in 2006 to take advantage of his position in the Venezuelan military, where he commanded thousands of heavily armed military officers to support the FARC's distribution of tons of cocaine bound for the U.S. .
Alcala surrendered in Colombia in 2020 to face indictment in New York accusing him, Maduro and a dozen other military and political leaders of using Venezuela as a launchpad to flood the U.S. with cocaine. Allegations of conspiracy were made.His lawyers argued in court papers that for several years before his arrest their client lived in a small rented apartment in Colombia, had an older model car and had barely $3,000 in his bank account.
In an interview last month with The Associated Press, Alcala said he has read more than 200 books while behind bars and that he has reflected on his choices, finding one regret while staying in shape with daily five-mile treadmill runs.(AP)
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Cleaver Alcala, 62, of Caracas, Venezuela, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein was sentenced last year after pleading guilty to charges that he supported a terrorist group and provided weapons to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC – considered by the US to be a foreign terrorist organization.
Prosecutors had sought a 30-year prison sentence, saying he accepted millions of dollars in cocaine-laced bribes. His lawyers had requested a six-year sentence. Hellerstein ordered him to spend 21 years and eight months in prison.In a release after the sentencing, US Attorney Damien Williams said that Alcalá and his co-conspirators tried to weaponize cocaine by helping the FARC with weapons as tons of the drug were shipped to the United States.
He said that Alcalá "corrupted the vital institutions of his own country because he helped the FARC flood this country with cocaine – but not anymore. Instead, he is serving more than two decades in a United States prison. Will not spend."
Prosecutors said Alcalá began in 2006 to take advantage of his position in the Venezuelan military, where he commanded thousands of heavily armed military officers to support the FARC's distribution of tons of cocaine bound for the U.S. .
Alcala surrendered in Colombia in 2020 to face indictment in New York accusing him, Maduro and a dozen other military and political leaders of using Venezuela as a launchpad to flood the U.S. with cocaine. Allegations of conspiracy were made.His lawyers argued in court papers that for several years before his arrest their client lived in a small rented apartment in Colombia, had an older model car and had barely $3,000 in his bank account.
In an interview last month with The Associated Press, Alcala said he has read more than 200 books while behind bars and that he has reflected on his choices, finding one regret while staying in shape with daily five-mile treadmill runs.(AP)
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