VENEZUELA · BRIEF
Key Facts
- Who Nielson de Souza Vilela, a lawyer who represented Venezuela’s former military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal in Spain.
- Where Found dead in a storage room of the building on Madrid’s central Gran Vía avenue where he lived.
- Status Police in Madrid are investigating; no official cause has been published.
- As of 14 November 2026, 17:30 GMT.
- Power Index Venezuela ranks 12th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 29.4 points (November 2026 edition).
A lawyer who defended a former Venezuelan spy chief in Spain has been found dead in Madrid, and the cause is not yet public.
Published Saturday, 14 November 2026, 12:30 p.m. ET · Source: US Department of Justice (Southern District of New York, the federal prosecutors’ district for Manhattan); Spanish media reports
Nielson de Souza Vilela, a Brazilian lawyer, was found dead in a storage room of the building on Madrid’s central Gran Vía where he lived, on Saturday, 14 November. The police homicide group is investigating, and no official cause has been released.
Spanish media do not report a cause, and we do not speculate. Carvajal, a former Venezuelan military intelligence chief, pleaded guilty in New York on 25 June 2025 to narco-terrorism and other charges, the US Justice Department says.
We could not confirm whether Carvajal has been sentenced. Watch for the autopsy result and the next court date in the federal court in Manhattan.
Sources: US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York, https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-venezuelan-general-pleads-guilty-narco-terrorism-weapons-and-drug-trafficking ; Telemadrid, 14 November 2026, https://www.telemadrid.es/noticias/madrid/hallado-vida-trastero-gran-via_1_2814800.html ; El Español, 14 November 2026, https://www.elespanol.com/espana/20261114/hallan-muerto-residencia-madrid-abogado-pollo-carvajal-exjefe-inteligencia-militar-venezolana/1003744458391_0.html
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