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The judicial siege around chavismo is expanding. A group of American citizens has filed a civil lawsuit against Nicolás Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez, Diosdado Cabello, Jorge Rodríguez, and other figures of the regime, accusing them of kidnappings, torture, drug trafficking, and state terrorism.
The case registered under the number 25-cv-23652-DPG was filed on January 4, 2026, in the Southern District Court of Florida (Miami Division) and signifies a new front of international judicial pressure following Maduro's capture by U.S. forces.
The legal action—led by the firms Mayer Brown LLP and Scale Law Partners LLC, which specialize in international human rights litigation—invokes two of the most stringent instruments of U.S. federal law: the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), which are designed to target organized criminal enterprises.
In the lawsuit, the "Cártel de los Soles" is treated as a co-defendant, on the same level as Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and the Venezuelan Oil Corporation (CVP), identified as financial vehicles for transnational crime.
Among the plaintiffs are Jerrel Kenemore and his family, Jason Saad, Edgar José Marval, and other U.S. citizens, including two minor victims identified as SMS and MSM. They allege to have suffered kidnappings, torture, or persecution at the hands of officials linked to the regime, and seek multi-million dollar compensation for damages.
The text of the lawsuit —partially revealed on social media by journalist David Alandete— accuses Delcy Rodríguez of having been the de facto vice president of Venezuela since 2018 and minister of Economy and Finance from 2020 to 2024, a period during which she allegedly facilitated “the consolidation of Maduro's authoritarian power.”
It also includes his brother Jorge Rodríguez, the current president of the National Assembly, and notes that both were sanctioned by the OFAC in 2018 for their role in political repression.
The lawsuit is not criminal, but it has the potential for highly significant financial and diplomatic consequences. If the court declares the defendants in default—as the plaintiffs requested on January 4—the judge could rule on the alleged facts and issue an enforceable civil judgment, with the possibility of seizing assets and freezing funds abroad, such as those recently blocked by Switzerland.
This new process could become the first federal judicial examination of the internal workings of chavismo as a criminal organization.
In the words of legal analysts, the action "seeks not only economic compensation but also to judicially document that the Venezuelan power operated as a mafioso enterprise under a state facade." A legal twist that, amid Venezuela's transition, aims to extend the battle of Maduro and his inner circle beyond the political and military realms.
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