The CIA is flexing its state-secrets privilege in an ongoing effort to conceal its connections to former Venezuelan general Clíver Antonio Alcalá Cordones, who is accused of participating in a narco-terrorism conspiracy with the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro. According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Cordones conspired with Maduro, other top Venezuelan regime officials, and members of Colombia’s Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) to ship cocaine to the United States. Cordones and the others did so for roughly two decades to fund their operations, as well as to “undermine the health and well-being of our nation,” U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman said when announcing the charges in March 2020. Cordones has vigorously disputed his involvement with the alleged narco-terrorist scheme. In fact, Cordones claims that he actively opposed Maduro’s socialist government. According to Cordones, the former general was one of the rebels who tried to overthrow Maduro in March 2018. The …