Alejandro Cao de Benós de Les y Pérez

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.

Cao de Benós has been the subject of widespread criticism from the Western press for, among other things, trying to restrict freedom of expression of journalists. He has expelled members of the Korea Friendship Association for "disrespect". He has also been accused of threatening and intimidating journalists critical of North Korea. Andrew Morse of ABC News visited North Korea in 2004, at the invitation of the Association. Morse was accused of using sensationalist language to describe North Korean collective farms. When asked about the incident, Cao de Benós said, "Mr. Morse broke almost every rule specified beforehand, including the DPRK law. So after several warnings that he completely ignored, appropriate measures were taken." The "appropriate measures" included unauthorized entry and search of journalist Morse's Pyongyang hotel room, including destruction of his laptop and recordings; Cao de Benós compelled Morse to write a letter of apology under duress, in exchange for being granted permission to leave the country.

While he is authorized to "promote and develop cultural relations," Cao de Benós has been criticized for fraudulently representing himself as a North Korean government employee and the KFA as an official North Korean entity, neither of which are true.

Cao de Benós has been criticized for charging more than twice as much as other tour organizers to bring filmmakers, artists and tourists to North Korea. In exchange for these higher prices, he promises exclusive access, although the attractions on his itinerary are comparable to those on any other tour. Furthermore, Cao de Benós has historically failed to secure permits and permissions for even standard, relatively highly-accessible attractions.

In 2020, an unpublished report by the UN Panel of Experts denounced Cao de Benós for violating UN sanctions by facilitating a joint venture between the DPRK and KFA. A federal arrest warrant was issued in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York on January 27, 2022, after he was charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). He is wanted by the FBI from January 2022 for working with an American citizen to illegally provide

cryptocurrency and blockchain technology services to the DPRK. For that, he was arrested on 30 November 2023 in Madrid but he was released soon after.