The Spanish Civil Guard detained two former Venezuelan diplomats at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport after they were caught smuggling approximately 50 kilograms of cocaine into Spain.
According to CiberCuba, a team of independent journalists covering Cuba and its regional allies, the detainees are José Rafael Escorihuela Pereira, the former deputy head of the Venezuelan embassy in Madrid, and Kelvin Jesús Matos Pérez, a former embassy official and ex-brother-in-law of Nicolás Maduro Guerra, the son of the former Venezuelan leader, Nicolás Maduro. Escorihuela attempted to evade customs inspection on September 8 by claiming active diplomatic status, but Spanish authorities discovered the narcotics in his luggage.
The arrests, which were revealed weeks later, have drawn attention to the detainees’ connections to Venezuela’s former diplomatic corps and the Maduro family. Spanish law enforcement is investigating whether Matos Pérez acted as an intermediary for Escorihuela and whether other individuals participated in the alleged smuggling operation.
Escorihuela previously served as a close associate of Coromoto Godoy Calderón, Venezuela’s permanent representative to the United Nations. He accompanied Godoy as minister counselor and deputy head of mission at the Venezuelan embassies in India and Spain. During his time in India, Escorihuela was accused of misleading business leaders while acting as an intermediary or lobbyist.
In January 2025, Maduro appointed Godoy as minister of foreign trade, and Escorihuela subsequently took charge of the department in Caracas. Their career paths diverged in March 2026, when interim President Delcy Rodríguez appointed Godoy as Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations following Maduro’s arrest by the U.S. Military under orders from President Donald Trump on January 3.
Matos Pérez also served at the Venezuelan Embassy in Madrid. His former marriage to a sister of Maduro Guerra, widely known as “Nicolasito,” has brought additional scrutiny to the case.
According to sources cited by Venezuelan news outlet El Pitazo, Escorihuela allegedly completed five trips using the same trafficking route. He reportedly departed Venezuela on private flights carrying drugs, stopped in Santo Domingo, and then continued to Madrid on commercial flights.
The repeated travel patterns raised suspicions among Dominican authorities, who shared intelligence with Spain’s Civil Guard, which led investigators to monitor Escorihuela and eventually arrest him in Madrid.
The judicial proceedings remain confidential. El Pitazo director César Batiz said the Civil Guard confirmed that the investigation remained under judicial secrecy, preventing officials from disclosing further details about the suspects’ alleged involvement.
The arrests come amid mounting international legal scrutiny of Venezuela’s former leadership and allegations of drug trafficking involving individuals associated with the Maduro government.
Meanwhile, Maduro is currently awaiting a hearing in New York, where he faces federal charges related to narcoterrorism and cocaine importation.
U.S. prosecutors have also pursued allegations involving Maduro Guerra, accusing him of coordinating drug shipments with dissident factions of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN). The allegations include claims that he used aircraft belonging to Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), to transport illegal narcotics.
In December 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that drug-trafficking organizations operated with the cooperation of the Maduro government to move cocaine through the Caribbean toward the United States, describing the activity as a security threat to multiple countries.
On September 15, Alex Saab, a prominent figure associated with the Maduro government, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in federal court in Miami. Saab agreed to forfeit $195 million and cooperate with prosecutors by providing information about senior Venezuelan officials.
Spanish authorities continue to investigate the alleged smuggling operation, including the roles of the two former diplomats and the possibility of additional accomplices.
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