Years active 1990s – present Allies FARC
Sinaloa Cartel | Territory Venezuela | |
Criminal activities Drug trafficking, arms trafficking, money laundering | ||
The term Cartel of the Suns (Spanish: Cartel de los Soles) describes a Venezuelan organization allegedly 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 that the "rot moved its way up the ranks".
Contents
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 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, who wore emblems that looked like suns on their uniforms, were investigated for drug trafficking crimes.
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.
Bolivarian government
According to Vice News, the Bolivarian 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 a Paris flight astonished French 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 two relatives (an adopted son and a nephew) of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro while trying to move 800 kilograms of cocaine from Venezuela to the USA, a source from DEA stated unofficially that there is no way that the huge amount of cocaine that passes through Venezuela does it without high levels of 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.
Diosdado Cabello
In January 2015, the former security chief of both Hugo Chavez and Diosdado Cabello, Leamsy Salazar, made accusations that Cabello was head of the Cartel of the Suns. Salazar was placed in witness protection, fleeing to the United States with assistance of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Special Operations Division after cooperating with the administration and providing possible details on Cabello's involvement with international drug trade. Salazar stated that he saw Cabello give orders on transporting tons of cocaine. The shipments of drugs were reportedly sent from the FARC in Colombia to the United States and Europe, with the possible assistance of Cuba. The alleged international drug operation had possibly involved other senior members of Venezuela's government as well, such as Tarek El Aissami and José David Cabello, Diosdado's brother.
Hugo Carvajal
Hugo Carvajal is allegedly one of the leaders of the Cartel of the Suns. On July 22, 2014, Hugo Carvajal, former head of Venezuelan military-intelligence, was detained in Aruba, despite having been admitted on a diplomatic passport and being named consul general to Aruba in January. The arrest was carried out following a formal request by the U.S. government, which accuses Carvajal of ties to drug trafficking and to the FARC guerrilla group. On July 27, Carvajal was released after authorities decided he had diplomatic immunity, but was also considered persona non grata.
FARC
The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) accused Chavez's government of funding FARC's Caracas office and giving it access to intelligence services. Venezuelan diplomats denounced the IISS' findings saying that they had "basic inaccuracies". In 2007, authorities in Colombia claimed that through laptops they had seized on a raid against Raul Reyes, they found documents purporting to show that Hugo Chávez offered payments of as much as $300 million to the FARC "among other financial and political ties that date back years" and documents showing the FARC rebels sought Venezuelan assistance in acquiring surface-to-air missiles, and alleging that Chavez met personally with rebel leaders. According to Interpol, the files found by Colombian forces were considered to be authentic. In 2008, the United States Department of Treasury accused two senior Venezuelan government officials and one former official of providing material assistance for drug-trafficking operations carried out by the FARC guerrilla group in Colombia.
However, independent analyses of the documents by a number of U.S. academics and journalists have challenged the Colombian interpretation of the documents, accusing the Colombian government of exaggerating their contents. In 2008, the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, testified before the U.S. Congress that "there are no evidences" that Venezuela is supporting "terrorist groups", including the FARC.