Two former Venezuelan diplomats detained with 50 kilos of cocaine at Madrid AirportKEK they just walked in with it!

By CiberCuba Editorial Team

Sunday, September 27, 2026 - 09:18

The Spanish Civil Guardarrested two former Venezuelan diplomats at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport on September 8, accused of smuggling 50 kilos of cocaine into Spain, although the news has only recently gained public attention.

Among those arrested is Kelvin Jesús Matos Pérez, the former brother-in-law of Nicolás Maduro Guerra, son of the ex-dictator currently imprisoned in New York, as revealed by El Pitazo, a detail also confirmed by Spanish diplomatic sources to the outlet The Objective.

Who are the detainees?

The first arrested individual is José Rafael Escorihuela Pereira, who arrived at Barajas from the Dominican Republic carrying a Venezuelan diplomatic passport.

Upon being intercepted, he claimed to be a functioning diplomat in order to evade customs inspection. However, the maneuver did not work: agents opened his luggage and found the 50 kilos of narcotics.

Escorihuela was not a minor official.

For years, he was the right-hand man of Coromoto Godoy Calderón, the current permanent representative of Venezuela to the UN, whom he accompanied as minister counselor and deputy head of mission at the Venezuelan embassies in India and Spain.

Sources consulted by El Pitazo indicate that Indian businessmen complained about his handling as a presumed intermediary or lobbyist during that period, claiming to have felt cheated.

When Godoy was appointed Minister of Foreign Trade by Maduro in January 2025, Escorihuela took over that office in Caracas.

In March 2026, with Maduro already imprisoned in New York, the interim president Delcy Rodríguez appointed Godoy as ambassador to the UN, marking the point at which their paths diverged.

The second detainee, Kelvin Jesús Matos Pérez, was also an official at the Venezuelan embassy in Madrid and has a family connection to Nicolás Maduro Guerra, the son of the dictator, known as "Nicolasito."

The Civil Guard is investigating whether Matos Pérez acted as an intermediary for Escorihuela in the Spanish capital and if there are any other individuals involved.

The case, which has received little coverage in the Spanish press despite occurring nearly three weeks ago with the arrests, has been primarily documented by Venezuelan sources, including journalist David Placer.

The route: Venezuela, Santo Domingo, Madrid

According to sources consulted by El Pitazo, Escorihuelais said to have completed five trips always following the same method: he would leave Venezuela on private flights with the drugs, make a stop in Santo Domingo, and from there continue to Madrid on commercial flights.

The systematic repetition of that route raised alarms for the Dominican authorities, who shared intelligence information with the Spanish Civil Guard, leading to the monitoring and arrest in Barajas.

The judicial proceedings remain under strict confidentiality.

The director of El Pitazo, César Batiz, reported that "the Spanish Civil Guard confirmed to El Pitazo that the proceedings remain confidential and that, for this reason, no further details about their involvement in the case could be provided."

The context: chavismo and international drug trafficking

The case arises amid increasing international judicial pressure on the chavismo environment.

Nicolás Maduro was captured by U.S. forces on January 3, 2026, and taken to New York, where he faces federal charges of narcoterrorism and cocaine importation.

The Southern District of New York's Attorney General expanded the charges to include Nicolasito, who is alleged to have coordinated drug shipments with dissidents from the FARC and the National Liberation Army (ELN), and to have used planes from the state-owned PDVSA to transport illegal cargo.

In December 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned: "There are entities dedicated to drug trafficking that operate openlyand with the cooperation of the Maduro regime to send drugs like cocaine to the United States through the Caribbean, creating a very serious security situation in many countries."

On September 15, Alex Saab, a frontman for the Chavista regime, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money in a federal court in Miami, agreed to forfeit 195 million dollars, and committed to cooperating with the Prosecutor's Office by providing information on high-ranking Venezuelan officials.

https://en.cibercuba.com/noticias/2026-09-27-u1-e129488-s27061-nid341311-dos-exdiplomaticos-venezolanos-detenidos-50-kilos

Russia strikes data centers, logistics sites in Ukraine – MOD

The Russian military has heavily hit a Ukrainian port on the Danube River, as well as multiple drone stockpiles

Published 27 Sep, 2026 16:55

The Russian military has targeted mobile operator data centers, as well as multiple warehouses and critical infrastructure sites across Ukraine, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.

The ministry gave an update on the latest round of long-range strikes against Ukraine on Sunday, providing a detailed list of targets. In Kiev Region, the Russian military hit a large warehouse belonging to the Zammler Group, the ministry said. The warehouse has been used to store and distribute Western military aid flowing to Ukraine, it added.

Footage circulating online purports to show a large plume of black smoke emitting from the logistics center, located in the village of Krasilovka. The warehouse has apparently sustained considerable damage, with the strikes sparking hours-long fire at the site.

The strikes also targeted a data center in Kiev belonging to the Vodafone Ukraine mobile operator. The ministry described the major provider as one of “the largest companies providing mobile communication and high-speed internet services” to the Ukrainian military. Later in the day, the Russian military also hit data centers of the internet provider Omega Telecom and the mobile and internet operator Kievstar. Recently, the Russian military turned its attention to Ukrainian data centers, with multiple internet and mobile providers reporting damage and connectivity issues due to strikes.

Two warehouses used to store attack drones were hit in Nikolayev Region, another stockpile, used to keep interceptor UAVs, was attacked in Odessa, according to the ministry. Earlier in the day, Ukrainian drone maker Pegasus Arms announced a halt to its operations, claiming its manufacturing site was heavily damaged in Russian strikes earlier this week. The company had halted operations late last year due to Russian strikes, yet resumed them later on after moving production to another location.

The Danube River port town of Kiliya was extensively targeted during the latest round of the Russian strikes. According to the ministry, port infrastructure sites, a naval base, a border guard site, and four warehouses used to stash military equipment were hit. On top of that, the military hit two dry cargo vessels off Odessa, said to be used to carry military equipment and dual-use goods for the Ukrainian military.

Both Kiev and Moscow have ramped up long-range strikes in recent weeks after Ukraine launched its attempted “pressure campaign” during the summer.

Russia has retaliated in force, greatly expanding the range of targets it strikes across the country, with the campaign virtually paralyzing Ukrainian shipping through ports in the Black Sea, as well as causing severe disruptions in logistics elsewhere.

https://www.rt.com/russia/646321-ukraine-data-centers-strikes/

Serbian president resigns

Aleksander Vucic has officially announced his departure months after saying he will leave

Published 27 Sep, 2026 18:14 | Updated 27 Sep, 2026 19:48

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic resigned from office on Sunday ahead of snap parliamentary elections. The outgoing president is set to run for re-election as the candidate for the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), seeking the prime minister office instead.

Vucic announced the move from the presidential palace, stating that his address would be the last in his current capacity. He is stepping down during his second presidential term and, under the Serbian constitution, cannot seek another one. A new election must be held within three months of the president’s resignation.

Vucic first announced his intent to leave his post at a rally in June.

The impending snap presidential vote means Serbs will have to go to the polls twice this year. The snap parliamentary election is set to be held on October 25, with Vucic expected to run as the head of his SNS party, potentially taking the prime minister post should it emerge victorious.

Has Serbia withdrawn its support for Russia?

A large crowd of Vucic supporters gathered outside the presidential palace to bid him farewell. Some carried banners reading “Thank you,” as well as hailing Vucic as a “political genius.” The outgoing president joined his supporters in person after wrapping up his address and signing his resignation letter on camera, footage from the scene shows.

“This evening marks my last chance, the final time I am here in this beautiful building as president. I have held the office of president longer than anyone else in Serbia’s history since the establishment of multi-party democracy. I am proud to have achieved this thanks to your votes and support,” Vucic said in his address.

Vucic’s second term, originally set to run until May 2027, has been overshadowed over the past two years by recurring anti-government protests and sporadic clashes between demonstrators and police. The unrest was sparked by the 2024 railway station disaster in Novi Sad, where the collapse of a concrete canopy killed 16 people.

The tragedy gave rise to a broader anti-government movement that has accused the authorities of negligence and misuse of public funds, allegedly leaving Yugoslav-era infrastructure to deteriorate. Vucic has consistently denied the allegations, arguing instead that the unrest was incited by Brussels as part of a pressure campaign aimed at pushing Belgrade to align its foreign policy more closely with the EU.

https://www.rt.com/news/646334-serbia-vucic-resigns/