Venezuelan Drug Kingpin Sentenced to Life Plus 30 Years in US Court
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton offloads more than 76,140 lbs of illicit narcotics at Port Everglades, Florida, on August 25, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard)
Miami Herald | By Antonio María Delgado
Published January 13, 2026 at 9:37am ET
A federal judge in Manhattan sentenced Venezuelan drug trafficker Carlos Orense Azocar on Tuesday to life in prison plus 30 additional years, capping one of the most sweeping narcotics prosecutions ever brought against a figure tied to Venezuela’s shadowy drug networks and alleged corruption at the highest levels of the Caracas regime and its military.
Orense Azocar, known by the nickname “El Gordo,” was convicted in December 2023 after a two-week trial in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick imposed the sentence, finding Orense guilty of conspiring to import massive quantities of cocaine into the United States and of multiple weapons-related offenses.
Federal prosecutors described Orense as one of the most prolific cocaine traffickers ever prosecuted in the courthouse, responsible for moving hundreds of tons of cocaine through an international pipeline that stretched from Colombia and Venezuela to Central America, the Caribbean and ultimately the United States.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2026/01/13/venezuelan-drug-kingpin-sentenced-life-plus-30-years-us-court.html
