The legal representative of Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, the former head of Venezuelan military intelligence, has been discovered dead in a storage area within the building where he lived on Madrid's bustling Gran Vía. The Spanish news outlet The Objective exclusively reported the death of attorney Nielson de Souza Vilela on Thursday.
De Souza Vilela, around forty years old, had his death shrouded in mystery, with no arrests or evidence of foul play publicly disclosed at this time.
The timing of his death coincides with a period of heightened tension surrounding his client, known as "El Pollo Carvajal." Carvajal, possessing extensive knowledge of the inner workings of the Chavista regime, is actively cooperating with U.S. authorities. In June 2025, he pled guilty to four federal charges, including conspiracy to commit narcoterrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, with connections to narcotics trafficking benefiting the FARC under the so-called Cartel of the Suns.
The sentencing for Carvajal, initially scheduled for October 2025 and later postponed to February of this year, has been delayed multiple times. His associates attribute these delays to the sensitive information he has been providing U.S. authorities about international operations of the Venezuelan regime, the business dealings of its leaders, and the funding mechanisms for political parties aligned with Chavismo in various countries.
This collaboration took on even greater significance following the capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3, 2026. In December 2025, Carvajal had sent a letter from prison to President Trump, offering to testify about insider knowledge of the Chavista regime and accusing the Cuban government of advising Hugo Chávez to use drug trafficking as a weapon against the United States.
One of the most explosive aspects of his revelations is the Cuban connection. In his unpublished memoirs, written during his imprisonment in Spain and released in September 2026, Carvajal alleged that over 20,000 Cuban agents infiltrated the Venezuelan state with Chávez's approval.
During his detention in Spain from 2021 to 2023, the former general submitted a report to the National Court, claiming that Cuba was involved in financing the Spanish political party Podemos. The report included details of cash deliveries at the Hotel Meliá in Caracas and the use of the Venezuelan diplomatic pouch.
Sources close to the former intelligence chief indicate that his statements to U.S. authorities also implicate Chavismo's relationships with former Spanish President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. Zapatero was charged in May 2026 in the Plus Ultra case, an investigation into the 53 million euro bailout granted by Pedro Sánchez's government to an airline linked to Chavismo. Zapatero denies any involvement in that concession.
The discovery of Souza Vilela's body has immediately rekindled memories of another dark incident in Madrid. In July 2019, Juan Carlos Márquez Cabrera, a former executive of Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), was found dead in an industrial building in San Sebastián de los Reyes just two days after expressing his willingness to cooperate in the Morodo case, which investigated the payment of at least 4.5 million euros from PDVSA to companies linked to the son of former Spanish ambassador to Venezuela Raúl Morodo.
The autopsy suggested suicide, with no signs of third-party involvement, but the case has continued to raise questions. As noted by The Objective, "seven years after the death of Márquez Cabrera, the death in central Madrid of the lawyer who defended El Pollo Carvajal in Spain has brought that episode back into conversations among former PDVSA officials."
Key Questions on Recent Events in Venezuelan Intelligence and Politics
Who was Nielson de Souza Vilela?
Nielson de Souza Vilela was a lawyer representing Hugo Armando Carvajal Barrios, the former head of Venezuelan military intelligence, in Spain.
What charges did Hugo Carvajal plead guilty to in the United States?
Hugo Carvajal pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine into the U.S., and narcotics trafficking for the benefit of FARC, under the Cartel of the Suns.
How has Carvajal's cooperation impacted international relations?
Carvajal's cooperation has provided U.S. authorities with information on Venezuelan regime operations, impacting international relations by exposing funding mechanisms for Chavista-aligned parties and involvement of countries like Cuba.