The Cartel of the Suns () is a Venezuelan organization supposedly headed by high-ranking members of the Armed Forces of Venezuela who are involved in international drug trade. According to Héctor Landaeta, journalist and author of Chavismo, Narco-trafficking and the Military, the phenomenon began when Colombian drugs began to enter into Venezuela from corrupt border units and the "rot moved its way up the ranks."
History
Reports that members of the Venezuelan military were involved in drug trafficking began in the 1990s, though it was limited to taking payments and ignoring drug traffickers. It was alleged that officers of Hugo Chávez's Revolutionary Bolivarian Movement-200 that planned the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts had created a group that participated in drug trafficking that was known as the "Cartel Bolivariano" or "Bolivarian Cartel". Following the 1992 coup attempts, the Los Angeles Times noted that Venezuelan officers may have sought to take over the government since there was "money to be made from corruption, particularly in drugs".
In 1993, the term "Cartel de los Soles" or "Cartel of the Suns" was first used when allegations of two National Guard generals of the Anti-Drug National Command, Ramón Guillén Dávila and Orlando Hernández Villegas, were investigated for drug trafficking crimes. The term came from the general emblems that looked like suns on their uniforms.
Bolivarian government
The "Cartel of the Suns" name returned in 2004 by reporter and city council member Mauro Marcano. Shortly before he was murdered, Marcano alleged that Alexis Maneiro, head of the National Guard and the Dirección General de Inteligencia Militar, was involved in drug trafficking.
According to Vice News, the Venezuelan government under Hugo Chavez expanded corruption to "unprecedented levels" in an already corrupt military. Chavez gave military officials millions of dollars for social programs that allegedly disappeared, also giving legal immunity to drug trafficking officials to maintain power and loyalty. When Chavez ousted the United States Drug Enforcement Administration in 2005, Venezuela became a more attractive route for drug trade. According to Colombian intelligence, an arrested drug vigilante stated that "senior figures in President Hugo Chavez's security forces to arrange drug shipments through Venezuela". It has been alleged that the National Guard had worked with the FARC with drug trade. British officials alleged that planes from Colombia would also be sheltered by Venezuelan Air Force bases.
Incidents
In September 2013, an incident allegedly linked to the Cartel of the Suns and involving men from the Venezuelan National Guard who placed 31 suitcases containing 1.3 tons of cocaine on an Air France flight astonished Charles de Gaulle Airport authorities as it was the largest seizure of cocaine recorded in mainland France. On 15 February 2014, a commander for the Venezuelan National Guard was stopped while driving to Valencia with his family and was arrested for having 554 kilos of cocaine in his possession. On 11 November 2015, DEA agents arrested in Haiti two relatives (an adopted son and a nephew) of Cilia Flores, the First Lady of Venezuela, while trying to move 800 kilograms of cocaine from Venezuela to the United States. A source from the DEA unofficially stated, that the large amounts of cocaine are able to pass through Venezuela due to corruption in the government.
Organization
There are groups within the branches of the Armed Forces of Venezuela such as the Venezuelan Army, Venezuelan Navy, Venezuelan Air Force, and Venezuelan National Guard; from the lowest to the highest levels of personnel.
Low-level personnel
Allegedly, lower ranking National Guardsmen compete for positions at border checkpoints so they can be paid bribes for "illicit trade", though a large portion of bribes go to their superiors. Allegedly, the corrupt officials of the Cartel of the Suns traffic drugs from Colombia to Venezuela where they are shipped internationally.
High-level officials
Nicolás Maduro
President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro has personally promoted individuals accused of drug trafficking to high positions of the Venezuelan government. In May 2018, he was said to have received drug trafficking profits from Diosdado Cabello.