The Cartel of Suns, Nicolás Maduro and Tareck El Aissami have added a new lawsuit to the collection of accusations they face in various U.S. courts. This one is for narcoterrorism and involves a civil case in which relatives of affected Americans are seeking damages under U.S. Anti-Terrorism laws.
The lawsuit links the aforementioned Cartel of Suns to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and, therefore, to its leaders, holding them accountable for a narcoterrorist conspiracy that resulted in the deaths of American citizens on board an aircraft shot down by the terrorist organization.
This case clearly aims to claim damages through Venezuelan assets on U.S. soil. It is yet another group looking to take its part in the dismemberment of CITGO Petroleum Corporation in the upcoming auction supervised by the Delaware court.
The Lawsuit
On April 11, 2025, Christopher Janis, Michael Janis, Jonathan Janis, Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes, and Keith Stansell, represented by lawyers Newton P. Porter and Tony Korvick, filed a lawsuit against the Cartel of Suns, Nicolás Maduro Moros, and Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama.
This civil case seeks damages stemming from acts of international terrorism. Specifically, the legal action arises from an event on February 13, 2003, when the FARC shot down a U.S. drug surveillance aircraft in Colombia. This terrorist organization is responsible for the hostage-taking, torture, and deaths of the crew members.
The lawsuit claims the defendants are members and leaders of the Cartel of Suns, an organization that colluded with the FARC, assisting and inciting them to commit these acts while providing material support, including drug trafficking profits.
This is a civil lawsuit for damages under the Anti-Terrorism Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 2333(a); 2333(d)(2)), which allows U.S. citizens to sue for damages resulting from international terrorism acts.
The lawsuit asserts that the defendants are responsible for acts of international terrorism that resulted in the death of Thomas Janis and the kidnapping, torture, and detention of Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes, and Keith Stansell.
The Relationship Between FARC and the Cartel of Suns
The downing of a U.S. anti-drug surveillance plane on February 13, 2003, in Colombia is described in the lawsuit as an act carried out by members of the FARC, who conspired with the Cartel of Suns.
Among the crew were Thomas Janis as pilot; Thomas Howes as co-pilot; Keith Stansell as mission commander, and Marc Gonsalves as intelligence officer. “After a successful forced landing on a jungle mountain ridge, the pilot, Thomas Janis, was shot and killed by the FARC — execution style next to the plane.”
It also states that the FARC captured and imprisoned Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves, and Thomas Howes, holding them as hostages and torturing them in the Colombian and Venezuelan jungles for over 5 years (1,967 days of total captivity).”
The Cartel of Suns is described as a narcoterrorist criminal organization comprised of “high-ranking figures in the military, government, and business community in Venezuela,” tracing its origins to the 1990s under Hugo Chávez and its evolution under Nicolás Maduro.
Nicolás Maduro Moros is identified as “the former president of Venezuela” and a controlling figure in the Cartel of Suns, sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department in 2017 and indicted by the Justice Department in 2020 for orchestrating a “corrupt and violent narcoterrorist conspiracy between the Venezuelan Cartel of Suns and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).”
The lawsuit cites the Justice Department, stating that Maduro “expressly intended to flood the United States with cocaine to undermine our nation’s health and well-being.” It notes that Nicolás Maduro is a fugitive from U.S. justice.
Meanwhile, Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah is referred to as “the former vice president of Venezuela,” sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act for facilitating drug shipments and is described as a “key facilitator of Maduro’s regime support for Hezbollah.”
The lawsuit also mentions El Aissami’s alleged involvement in providing Venezuelan passports to terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah. It points out that this individual is a fugitive and featured on ICE’s list of the 10 most wanted.
Furthermore, the accusation alleges that Tareck El Aissami established a paramilitary organization, now known as “El Tren de Aragua” (TdA), to facilitate the operations of the Cartel of Suns. The TdA is described as a member structure of the Cartel of Suns.
The lawsuit references other leaders of the Cartel of Suns, including Vladimir Padrino López, the defense minister of Maduro’s regime; Néstor Luis Reverol Torres, former director of the Venezuelan ONA; Tarek William Saab, attorney general; and Diosdado Cabello Rondón, minister of interior, justice, and peace, implicating them in criminal and drug trafficking activities. It emphasizes that several are fugitives from U.S. justice.
The FARC is noted in the lawsuit as designated a “foreign terrorist organization” (FTO) by the United States and is considered “terrorists participating in international terrorism.” It claims they operated as “members of the Cartel of Suns.”
The accusation details how the FARC took responsibility for the kidnapping of Americans and offered to release them in exchange for political concessions and the creation of a demilitarized zone in Colombia. The lawsuit underscores that the revocation of FTO designation of the FARC does not affect legal actions based on past conduct.
The Narcoterrorist Conspiracy
The lawsuit alleges a “vast international drug trafficking conspiracy” forged between the Cartel of Suns and the FARC to “flood the United States with cocaine,” described as “symbiotic,” where the Venezuelan regime provides “safe haven” and “high-grade military weapons and ammunition” to the FARC, while the latter helps protect cocaine shipments and trains paramilitary groups loyal to the regime.
The lawsuit emphasizes that “dirty money is the lifeblood of the Cartel of Suns conspiracy” and that the acts committed by the FARC in collusion with them — the Cartel of Suns — are acts of “international terrorism” under U.S. law.
The lawsuit recalls that the law includes:
“Sabotage of aircraft” due to the downing of the plane.
“Hostage-taking” through the detention and threats to survivors to influence governments.
“Extrajudicial homicide” or “torture” for the murder of Thomas Janis and the cruel treatment of the hostages.
What the Plaintiffs Seek
The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages — including triple damages under 18 U.S.C. § 2333(a) — for the injuries suffered.
This includes loss of solace, mental anguish, mourning, and loss of parental support for the children of Thomas Janis, as well as captivity, torture, physical and mental pain and suffering, disability, disfigurement, permanent injuries, and loss of enjoyment of life for the surviving hostages.
They aim to hold the defendants accountable under U.S. Anti-Terrorism law for the damages incurred. The lawsuit describes the Venezuelan regime under Maduro as a “criminal gang” rather than a government, driven by profits from its illicit activities.
View in Sin Filtros “Chevron, Prisoners and Elections: The Geopolitical Game in Venezuela.”