Alejandro Cao de Benós de Les y Pérez (born 24 December 1974) is a Spanish political activist. He is a Special Representative of the Foreign Ministry of North Korea. He is, according to himself, also the Special Delegate of North Korea's Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries. He is wanted by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation for conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
He is also the founder, president, and only salaried member of the Korean Friendship Association (KFA). He has been an advocate of North Korea since 1990. His Korean name, Cho Sun-il ("One Korea"), is self-given but not a legal name as he travels using his Spanish passport. He is an honorary member of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea and the Korean People's Army, being the first Westerner to be part of both organisations. He has lived in Tarragona and Barcelona, working as an IT consultant. In April 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Cao de Benós "with conspiring to violate United States sanctions on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea."
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Family origins
Cao de Benós comes from a Spanish noble family. His paternal ancestors were the barons of Les, marquesses of Rosalmonte and counts of Argelejo, Grandees belonging to the highest-ranking members of the Spanish nobility, who were linked for centuries to the Spanish Army and Navy. Many of them were defenders of Carlism and Francoism. Although Cao de Benós's grandfather was born rich, he lost his inheritance and ended up working as a guard for Repsol-Butano.
