Have any US senators been charged or convicted for taking money from Venezuelan cartels?
Executive summary
There is no credible reporting in the documents provided that any sitting or former U.S. senator has been criminally charged or convicted for taking money from Venezuelan cartels; major reporting instead documents U.S. indictments of Venezuelan officials and debunks social-media claims that a list of U.S. politicians was released [1] [2] [3]. Several news outlets summarize extensive U.S. accusations that Venezuela’s leadership—most notably Nicolás Maduro, his family and close associates—were involved in drug-trafficking and bribery schemes, but those allegations and indictments target Venezuelan officials, not U.S. senators [2] [3] [4].
1. What the public allegations actually say—and whom they target
U.S. prosecutors unsealed wide-ranging indictments accusing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, his wife Cilia Flores and other Venezuelan officials of participating in narco-trafficking, bribery and related conspiracies that allegedly moved tons of cocaine toward the United States [2] [3] [4]; those indictments describe money flowing to Venezuelan officials, payments to Venezuelan anti-drug office figures and cash sent through presidential hangars, but do not allege U.S. senators participated in those schemes [4] [5]. Major outlets including NPR, AP, The New York Times and The Guardian focus their coverage on Maduro’s indictment and the alleged internal Venezuelan pay-to-protect networks, repeatedly naming Venezuelan actors and foreign cartels such as the Sinaloa cartel and Tren de Aragua [6] [2] [3].
2. Social media claims and the single notable counterclaim examined
A viral narrative arose online that Hugo Carvajal, the former Venezuelan intelligence chief who later pleaded guilty to U.S. narcotics-related charges, had produced a list implicating U.S. politicians in receiving kickbacks from Maduro or drug traffickers; fact-checkers such as Snopes examined those claims and found no evidence that Carvajal released any list implicating U.S. senators or other federal lawmakers, noting the stories traced back to unverified social posts without documentation [1]. Snopes’ reporting documents both Carvajal’s guilty plea and the absence of corroborating evidence for the “Venezuela list” claims, undercutting the specific allegation that senators were paid off [1].
3. Some senators’ public actions on Venezuela, not criminal exposure
Coverage also notes U.S. senators involved in legislative responses to Venezuela—for example, references that Senators Ted Cruz, Rick Scott and Bill Cassidy introduced measures such as the STOP MADURO Act and supported raising rewards for Maduro’s arrest—actions that are policy or political, not criminal allegations of taking cartel money [7]. These public policy moves are documented in reporting and legislative filings and are distinct from the criminal charges centered on Venezuelan officials [7].
4. Where the record is clear and where reporting is limited
The available sources consistently attribute alleged bribery and kickbacks to Venezuelan officials and drug traffickers, and they document U.S. indictments and seizures related to those accusations [4] [8]. Fact-checkers explicitly searched for any verified evidence of U.S. senators being charged or convicted and found none in the cases they examined; however, the materials provided do not encompass every possible investigative lead or court docket, so this assessment is limited to the cited reporting and public fact-checks [1] [2].
5. Bottom line, with alternative explanations and motives
Based on the reporting assembled here, there is no substantiated evidence that any U.S. senator has been charged or convicted for taking money from Venezuelan cartels; the allegations circulating online rest on unverified claims and have been refuted or left unsupported by fact-checkers, while mainstream coverage concentrates on indicting Venezuelan officials themselves [1] [2] [4]. Political incentives—both to vilify adversaries abroad and to weaponize unverified leaks domestically—can amplify rumor, so distinguishing criminal indictments (which the DOJ files publicly) from online accusations (which often lack documentation) is essential when assessing whether U.S. lawmakers have been implicated [1] [3].