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Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro is not just involved in organized crime — he is at its helm.
Experts indicate that from generals to judges, the highest echelons of Venezuela’s political and military elite are intricately involved in a vast cocaine trafficking network.
Dr. César Alvarez asserts that Nicolas Maduro leads the Cartel de los SolesCredit: Getty
Maduro’s military and officials are accused of facilitating and protecting the cocaine trade through the cartelCredit: AP
Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of The Suns, does not conform to the traditional definition of a cartel.
It represents a network of Venezuelan military, intelligence, and political elites accused of taxing, safeguarding, and transporting cocaine using state resources.
With significant portions of Maduro’s government deeply intertwined with the drug trade, the distinction between governmental authority and organized crime has become indistinct.
Dr. César Alvarez from Charles Sturt University told The Sun: “Undoubtedly, Nicolás Maduro is the leader of the Cartel de los Soles.
“The participation of high-ranking military officials has been clearly demonstrated, revealing not only government officials but also leaders from other criminal groups, not just in Venezuela but in Colombia as well.”
In 2020, U.S. prosecutors first charged Maduro with narco-terrorism, alleging that he and senior officials conspired with Colombia’s FARC guerrillas to “flood” the market with cocaine.
The allegations suggest that Venezuela’s state institutions — including the military, intelligence services, and judiciary — were weaponized to facilitate multi-ton shipments and protect traffickers from legal action.
Maduro denies these accusations and claims they are politically motivated.
However, a recent guilty plea from Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal, the regime’s former intelligence chief, has reinforced claims that elements of the state apparatus directly supported cocaine flights and armed the FARC.
His statements come amid a declared war on the cartels, aiming to eventually seize ports and airfields in the Latin American nation.
In recent weeks, tensions between Washington and Caracas have escalated to their highest levels in years.
Trump intensified the conflict beyond mere rhetoric by declaring the U.S. to be in a “non-international armed conflict” with cartel groups.
This unusual legal designation, along with the classification of several cartels as terrorist organizations, grants extensive wartime powers to strike, detain, and eliminate suspected traffickers without trial.
Stealth F-35s, B-52 bombers, Reaper drones , eight warships, and even a nuclear-powered submarine are stationed off the coast of Maduro’s regime.
Approximately 10,000 troops, military helicopters and CIA intelligence assets are closely monitoring Venezuela, with planners reportedly preparing contingencies to seize ports and airfields if necessary.
This week, Trump also dispatched America’s most formidable warplanes to the vicinity of Venezuela.
Two B-1B Lancer bombers — each capable of delivering 75,000 pounds of ordnance — departed from Texas on Thursday, approaching Venezuelan airspace in a powerful demonstration of strength.
Meanwhile, Maduro made a public appeal for calm after Trump warned that U.S. forces were prepared to conduct strikes on Venezuelan territory if his regime continued to protect drug traffickers.
The Pentagon confirmed the destruction of at least seven drug-smuggling vessels in recent weeks off the coast of Venezuela, with numerous suspected traffickers killed.
