You've probably heard the name whispered in Caracas or seen it splashed across a Department of Justice indictment in D.C. The Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, isn't your typical drug syndicate. It doesn't have a flashy headquarters or a single "Kingpin" living in a jungle hacienda with a zoo.
It’s way more complicated than that.
Honestly, it’s basically a label for the corruption embedded within the Venezuelan military. When people talk about the Cartel de los Soles, they aren't talking about a rival to the Sinaloa Cartel. They’re talking about the generals themselves. The name actually comes from the sun insignias worn on the epaulettes of Venezuelan National Guard generals. Imagine the people meant to stop the drugs being the ones making sure the planes take off. That's the reality.
Where the Cartel de los Soles Actually Started
This wasn't an overnight thing. Back in the 1990s, when the Venezuelan National Guard was patrolling the border with Colombia, things were already getting messy. It started small. A few soldiers taking bribes to look the other way while FARC guerrillas moved cocaine across the frontier.
Then Hugo Chávez happened.
When the political landscape shifted, the military took on a massive role in the economy. They weren't just soldiers anymore; they were running ports, oil companies, and food distribution. This created a "perfect storm" for organized crime. Experts like Jeremy McDermott from InSight Crime have pointed out that once the military controlled the ports and the runways, the temptation to move white powder was just too much to resist. It transitioned from "looking the other way" to actively managing the logistics of the global cocaine trade.
How the "Business Model" Works
Forget what you’ve seen in movies. There are no secret handshakes.
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The Cartel de los Soles operates as a series of loose, horizontal cells. Think of it like a franchise. One group of officers might control a specific landing strip in Apure state. Another group might manage the shipping containers leaving Puerto Cabello. They don't always like each other. In fact, they often compete. But they all share the same goal: moving Colombian cocaine to markets in the U.S. and Europe.
The U.S. government has been very specific about this. In 2020, the Department of Justice unsealed indictments against several high-ranking officials, including Nicolás Maduro and Diosdado Cabello. The allegations? That they used the Cartel de los Soles to "flood" the United States with cocaine as a form of "asymmetric warfare." Whether you believe the political angle or not, the sheer volume of flight tracking data showing "dark flights" leaving Venezuela for Honduras and the Dominican Republic is hard to ignore.
The FARC and ELN Connection
You can't talk about the Cartel de los Soles without talking about Colombia.
The Venezuelan military doesn't grow the coca. They aren't farmers. They are the "middlemen" and the "guarantors." They provide the safe haven. For years, the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and later the ELN (National Liberation Army) moved their labs into Venezuelan territory to escape the Colombian military.
In exchange for protection and transit rights, the guerrillas pay the generals. It’s a symbiotic relationship. The guerrillas get a sanctuary where they can't be bombed, and the Venezuelan officers get a steady stream of "tax" revenue in U.S. dollars. It's a gold mine. Literally, in some cases, as the groups have also branched out into illegal gold mining in the Orinoco Mining Arc.
High-Profile Cases and the "Narco-Nephews"
If you want proof that this reaches the highest levels, look at the "Narcosobrinos" case. In 2015, two nephews of Cilia Flores—Maduro's wife—were arrested in Haiti by the DEA. They were caught trying to broker a massive cocaine deal.
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The evidence?
Recordings of them bragging about their access to the presidential hangar at Simón Bolívar International Airport. They thought they were untouchable because of their family ties to the Cartel de los Soles power structure. While they were eventually pardoned in a prisoner swap in 2022, the trial revealed a lot of dirty laundry about how easily drugs move through state-controlled infrastructure.
Then there’s Hugo "El Pollo" Carvajal. He was the former head of military intelligence. If anyone knows where the bodies are buried—and where the planes are hidden—it’s him. After years on the run, he was extradited to the U.S. in 2023. His testimony is basically the "Holy Grail" for prosecutors trying to map out the Cartel de los Soles.
Why Nobody Can Stop Them
It's simple. How do you arrest the police when the police are the ones selling the product?
In a normal country, if a cartel takes over a town, the military goes in. In Venezuela, the military is the cartel. This creates a situation called a "mafia state." The institutions of the country—the courts, the intelligence services, the troops—are all repurposed to protect the criminal enterprise.
Sanctions haven't really worked. If anything, they've made the military more dependent on the drug trade. When the oil industry collapsed and the government couldn't pay decent salaries, the "Soles" became the only way for generals to maintain their lavish lifestyles. We're talking about mansions, luxury cars, and offshore accounts, all while the average citizen is struggling to find flour.
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The Global Impact
Don't think this is just a "South America problem."
The cocaine moving through Venezuela often ends up in West Africa before heading to the streets of Madrid, London, and Berlin. The Cartel de los Soles has turned Venezuela into a global transit hub. It's transformed the country's geography into a launching pad.
The environmental cost is also insane. To build these secret runways and mining camps, thousands of hectares of the Amazon rainforest are being razed. It’s a disaster on every level—human rights, ecology, and international security.
Common Misconceptions About the Cartel de los Soles
A lot of people think this is a unified organization with a logo. It's not.
- Misconception 1: There is a "Boss of Bosses." In reality, it’s a bunch of competing cliques within the military.
- Misconception 2: It’s only about drugs. Nope. They deal in human trafficking, illegal gold, and fuel smuggling too.
- Misconception 3: It’s a "secret" society. Honestly, it’s an open secret in Venezuela. People know which generals control which routes.
What Happens Next?
The future of the Cartel de los Soles is tied to the political future of Venezuela. As long as the current power structure remains, the military will likely continue its role as a logistical partner for transnational crime. However, the pressure is mounting.
With individuals like "El Pollo" Carvajal cooperating with U.S. authorities, more names are coming to light. The "Soles" are finding it harder to hide their money in international banks.
Actionable Insights and Reality Checks:
- Monitor Extradition Developments: Keep a close eye on the trials of former Venezuelan officials in the Southern District of New York. This is where the most reliable, non-politicized evidence usually surfaces.
- Understand the "State" Element: When analyzing regional security, remember that the Cartel de los Soles is not an insurgent group fighting the state; it is a faction of the state itself.
- Follow Independent Reporting: Outlets like InSight Crime and Efecto Cocuyo provide deep-dive investigative journalism that goes beyond the headlines.
- Acknowledge the Complexity: Avoid sources that paint this as a simple "good vs. evil" narrative. It’s a deeply entrenched system of survival for the Venezuelan ruling elite.
The Cartel de los Soles represents one of the most unique challenges in modern criminology because it blurs the line between a sovereign government and a criminal syndicate. Understanding this distinction is the only way to grasp why the situation in Venezuela remains so stagnant and why the drug flow continues despite international pressure.