Witness tells House Judiciary panel DEA linked 'Cartel de los Soles' to Venezuela; member pushes back

A witness told the House Committee on the Judiciary that the Drug Enforcement Administration reported the Cartel de los Soles — also known in English as the Cartel of the Suns — was operating in Venezuela.

When asked whether that activity could be tied to President Nicolás Maduro, the witness said, "So it's a totalitarian regime where he controls every single thing in the country." The exchange drew an objection from a committee member who said the testimony relied on conclusions rather than substantiated evidence.

"What you're doing is you're coming in here spouting off conclusions, conclusions that you've heard, which fit a a nice little narrative that that you are hearing," the committee member said.

Separately, a questioner raised the name Hugo "El Pollo" Carvajal, asking, "who Hugo El Pollo Carvajal is?" The provided transcript segments do not include a follow-up answer or additional corroborating details about that reference.

The chair then cut off the line of questioning and moved the hearing to the next item, saying, "I'm going to I'm going to move on." The transcript segments provided do not show any formal votes, rulings, or additional evidence offered in response to the allegations during this portion of the session.

The record in these segments is limited to the brief statements and exchanges above; the hearing did not produce a formal finding in the included transcript excerpts, and no documentary evidence or vote is recorded in the provided segments.