Introduction to Cartel de los Soles Designation
The United States has designated the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), a group it alleges is led by Venezuela's president, Nicolás Maduro, and senior government figures, as a foreign terrorist organization. This designation broadens the powers of US law enforcement and military agencies to target the organization. This action follows increased US pressure on the Maduro government, which the US considers illegitimate after last year's elections.
Disputed Existence
Venezuela's foreign ministry has "categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejected" the designation, describing it as a "new and ridiculous lie." Diosdado Cabello, Venezuela's interior and justice minister, who is among those alleged to be a high-ranking member of the cartel, has consistently referred to it as an "invention." He has stated that US officials use the cartel's name to target individuals they oppose. Gustavo Petro, the president of Colombia, has also denied the cartel's existence, characterizing it as "the fictional excuse of the far right to bring down governments that do not obey them."
In contrast, the US State Department asserts the Cartel de los Soles not only exists but has "corrupted Venezuela's military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary." Experts consulted by the BBC offer a more nuanced perspective on the group's nature and existence.
Origins and Evolution of the Term
The term "Cartel de los Soles" originated in the early 1990s within Venezuelan media. It was initially used following drug-trafficking allegations against a general in Venezuela's National Guard responsible for counter-narcotic operations. The name refers to the sun-shaped insignia worn by generals on their epaulettes. Mike LaSusa, an expert in organized crime in the Americas and deputy content director at Insight Crime, indicates the moniker evolved to encompass all Venezuelan officials with alleged links to drug trafficking, irrespective of whether they were part of a unified organization.
RaĂşl BenĂtez-Manau, an organized crime expert from Mexico's UNAM university, suggests the group's activities began in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This period coincided with the dismantling of Colombia's MedellĂn Cartel and a significant counter-narcotics offensive in Colombia, leading to the Cartel de los Soles allegedly providing alternative routes for cocaine transportation. The group is said to have strengthened during the early presidency of Hugo Chávez (1999-2013). BenĂtez-Manau notes that Chávez's decision to end military cooperation with the US, including the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), may have reduced oversight, potentially enabling some Venezuelan army officers to engage in illicit activities. Additionally, Chávez's political alignment with Colombia's Farc guerrillas, which financed itself largely through cocaine smuggling, contributed to the re-routing of drug trafficking through Venezuela. Wesley Tabor, a former DEA agent who worked in Venezuela, stated that the Farc found "a safe haven in Venezuela" and that numerous government officials, from local police to military aviation, reportedly became partners in drug trafficking, contributing to the flow of cocaine to the US.
Structure and Allegations of High-Level Involvement
According to LaSusa, the Cartel de los Soles differs from other drug networks by lacking a formal structure, operating instead as "a system of widespread corruption." He attributes its growth to the economic conditions in Venezuela under President Nicolás Maduro, where the government may allow security forces to accept bribes from drug traffickers to maintain their loyalty due to insufficient salaries. BenĂtez-Manau suggests that mid- and lower-ranking officers controlling key Venezuelan entry and exit points are central to facilitating drug flow.
US officials maintain that the cartel's operations extend to the highest levels of the Maduro government, including the president. In 2020, the US Justice Department accused Maduro and 14 other individuals, including Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino and former Supreme Court head Maikel Moreno, of conspiring with armed Colombian groups to ship cocaine to the United States. The indictment alleged that since at least 1999, the Cartel de los Soles had been led by Maduro, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, former military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal, and former General ClĂver Alcalá. This information is reportedly supported by testimony from former high-ranking Venezuelan military officials, including Carvajal and Alcalá.
Leamsy Salazar, a former security chief for Hugo Chávez, reportedly provided US officials with information regarding the Cartel de los Soles as early as 2014, alleging Cabello's leadership of the group. Cabello denied these allegations. In 2020, General Alcalá surrendered to DEA agents and subsequently pleaded guilty to charges related to providing support to the Farc and their cocaine-trafficking operations. Earlier this year, Hugo Carvajal, also known as "El Pollo," pleaded guilty in a US court to drug-trafficking and narco-terrorism charges. A federal prosecutor stated during Carvajal's trial that "he and other officials in the Cartel de los Soles used cocaine as a weapon, flooding New York and other US cities with poison." The US currently offers a reward for information leading to the arrest of President Maduro and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.