Cartel de los Soles

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The term Cartel de los Soles , also Cártel de los Soles ( German  Kartell der Sonnen ) is used to describe groups within the Venezuelan security forces who trade in cocaine . In the main branches of the armed forces - the Army, Navy, Air Force, and National Guard , from the lowest to the highest level - there are cells that function essentially as drug trafficking organizations. In contrast to the "classic" cartels such as B. the Medellín Cartel , Sinaloa Cartel and the Cali Cartel , all of which have clearly defined hierarchical pyramid structures, the “Cartel of the Suns” is primarily an informal network .

history

Origin of the designation

Depiction of a “sun” insignia of Venezuelan generals on the shoulder board and name for the cartel.

The term Cartel de los Soles was first used in 1993 when two National Guard generals, anti-drug chief Ramón Guillén Dávila and his successor Orlando Hernández Villegas , et al. a. were investigated for drug trafficking. As brigade commanders , everyone wore a single sun as a badge on their shoulders, from which the name Cartel del Sol came from. The term later became the Cartel de los Soles . Since then, the mysterious, publicly almost unknown criminal organization has used its name because of the epaulets of the generals in its ranks.

1990s

In the 1990s allegations were made by National Guard forces allied with drug traffickers , but in general this consisted mainly of taking bribes and looking the other way while drug dealers moved their goods. The cocaine was supplied by FARC contacts , while the “Cartel of the Suns” ensured the unhindered transport of the hot goods. The military had no direct contact with suppliers and, for the most part, did not move or store cocaine themselves.

2000s

In the mid-2000s, elements of the National Guard and other branches of the military became much more active in drug trafficking. Cells within the security forces began buying, storing, transporting and selling cocaine, while their main role was previously to extort money from drug traffickers who carried shipments of cocaine.

Three major events contributed to the rise in organized crime in Venezuela. First, Colombia signed the Colombia in the War on Drugs Security Plan with the United States , which enabled the Colombian security forces to put pressure on guerrilla groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) and the National Liberation Army (ELN). This military pressure forced the Colombian guerrillas to relocate their operations to the poorly guarded eastern border regions with Venezuela.

Then in 2002 two key events occurred in a row. The first was the end of the peace process between the FARC and the government of Colombian President Andrés Pastrana , with which the guerrillas lost most of their huge “sanctuary” in southern Colombia and were forced to look for other shelters. The second was the attempted coup that temporarily removed Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez from power. This led Chavez to focus much of his energy on identifying and sanctioning the coup plotters while leading other intense political struggles like the 2002-2003 oil strike.

The aftermath of the coup led to the Chávez government strengthening its circle of trust, which also resulted in loyal military personnel being given many influential government positions or lucrative contract opportunities. Chavez also established areas of military operations along the border with Colombia and fueled fears of a US invasion. It is believed that at this time, members of the Army and National Guard were corrupted by drug trafficking.

The term Cartel de los Soles only came back to the fore in 2004, thanks to journalist and city councilor Mauro Marcano . Before he was shot, he accused National Guard brigade commander and intelligence director Alexis Maneiro and other members of the National Guard with links to drug trafficking. The Marcano case pointed to systematic corruption in the National Guard. However, the government made only half-hearted efforts to investigate his murder. No investigation has been initiated against Maneiro and he has been moved to a less exposed position.

However, during this period there were other signs that drug trafficking was increasing in Venezuela. A record number of drug seizures were carried out in the country in 2004: 32 tons of cocaine and 12 tons of heroin and marijuana. The military's involvement in facilitating cocaine traffic was also investigated in August 2004 when several officers trapped three passengers (including one US citizen) on a drug courier flight at Caracas International Airport . Other National Guard officials were arrested in a separate case when attempting to stow cocaine on a private plane at Caracas International Airport. These types of events highlighted the military's role in drug trafficking and its tendency to confiscate drug shipments only if they had not received the appropriate bribe.

Another event occurred in 2005 that further strengthened organized crime networks in the country when Chavez accused the US Drug Law Enforcement Agency (DEA) of espionage . This ended the US-funded Antinarcotics projects.

2010s

Other incidents, such as that of a drug plane in 2011, also created the impression that organized crime was complicit at the highest levels of government and the army. It was found that a small light aircraft that was intercepted in Falcón state carried about 1,400 kilos of cocaine and took off from the La Carlota military base in Caracas in August 2011 . Army, air force and government spokesmen made various statements about the incident.

Another case, which began in September 2013 and this time involved a commercial airline, resulted in the arrest of 28 people, including a lieutenant colonel and other members of the National Guard. On September 10, 2013, an Air France plane landed in Paris with 1.3 tons of cocaine on board, packed in 31 suitcases. The plane took off from Caracas Airport , which is controlled by the National Guard.

In 2014, OFAC mentioned former intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal , who was later arrested by security forces in Aruba at the request of US authorities . However, after the intervention of the Dutch government, he was quickly released.

This incident was followed by more scandals in 2015 when Leamsy Salazar , former head of security for President Chávez, accused the then President of the National Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, of being one of the leaders of the "Cartel of the Suns". In August 2016, the United States brought charges against the former director general of the Venezuelan anti-drug agency, Néstor Reverol , and the agency's former deputy director, Edylberto José Molina . The day after the allegations were published, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro appointed Reverol as the new interior minister.

It should be noted that Venezuelan security forces did not conduct fully transparent investigations into alleged wrongdoing by Maneiro, Alcalá and others when they had the opportunity. It should also be noted that while Venezuela has accused some low-ranking members of the armed forces of drug crimes, high-ranking members alleged to be involved in drug trafficking appear to be receiving official protection.

US sanctions

One of the clearest signs that high-ranking security officers were involved in organized crime was in 2008 when OFAC announced sanctions against:

  • Hugo Carvajal , then director of the military secret service.
  • Henry de Jesús Rangel Silva, whom Chávez appointed Armed Forces Commander and Minister of Defense in January 2012.
  • Ramón Emilio Rodríguez Chacín, former Minister of the Interior and Justice.
  • Cliver Alcalá Cordones , later appointed Head of the Army's Strategic Integral Defense Region in Guyana (REDI Guyana).
  • Congressman Freddy Alirio Bernal Rosales, former Mayor of Caracas.
  • Intelligence officer Ramón Isidro Madriz Moreno.
  • Amílcar Jesús Figueroa Salazar, a politician known as "the FARC arms dealer and primary contact for FARC leaders based in Venezuela."

US government bounty

In March 2020, the US charged President Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking government officials with drug trafficking and money laundering. The judiciary has accused her of leading a drug trafficking ring called the "Cartel of the Suns" since at least 1999.

  • Nicolas Maduro , President, for working with Colombian and Mexican drug cartels and the FARC, US $ 15 million.
  • Diosdado Cabello , President of the Constituent Assembly and head of the Socialist Party is considered the central figure in the "Cartel of the Suns", US $ 10 million.
  • Hugo Caraval, former head of military intelligence and former general, US $ 10 million.
  • Tareck El Aissami , former Vice President and current Minister of Industry, amount unknown.
  • Cliver Alcalá Cordones, former Major General of the Army, surrendered to the US authorities on March 27, 2020 in Colombia.

guide

There is no "family tree" for such a nebulous structure as that of the Cartel de los Soles , just a list of names published by the OFAC and much speculation. It is clear, however, that all of the major branches of Venezuela's armed forces, the National Guard, Army, Navy and Air Force, have drug-dealing groups. While they sometimes appear to be working together, there is also evidence that rivalries exist among them, including drug theft (a practice known as tumbes ). There were reports of a drug trafficking faction within the army made up of officers involved in the 1992 coup attempt against Chavez, a group informally known as the Cartel Bolivariano .

Perspectives

Although the US has attempted to shed light on the cartel's activities in recent years, and even sanctioned and blamed some of its alleged members, the Venezuelan government has never conducted a serious investigation or prosecuted any of these suspects. In some cases, even army officers were more likely to receive regular promotions if they were involved in drug trafficking.

There is evidence that members of the army have deepened their involvement in drug trafficking in recent years. From facilitating drug trafficking to direct drug trafficking. In view of the worsening economic and political crisis in Venezuela since 2013 , it is likely that the operations of the “Cartel of the Suns” could continue unhindered and even expand.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Diccionario de la RAE: cartel Diccionario de la lengua española de la Real Academia Española , accessed on March 29, 2020 (Spanish)
  2. ↑ Cómo funciona el mal llamado Cártel de los Soles infobae.com, from October 2, 2019 (es)
  3. ↑ Tjerk Brühwiller: MADURO AND THE DRUG TRADE: Whoever has dollars is king faz.net, from March 27, 2020
  4. ↑ Ramón Guillén Dávila poderopediave.org, accessed March 27, 2020 (Spanish)
  5. ↑ DETENIDO JEFE DE LA POLICÍA VENEZOLANA eltiempo.com, of August 26, 1993 (es)
  6. ↑ Thomas Wagner: "The Godfather King" returns to Venezuela zeit.de, May 9, 2011
  7. ↑ Florian Quitzsch: Plan Colombia author quetzal-leipzig.de, from March 2008
  8. ↑ Plan Colombia - Información y Documentos derechos.org, accessed on March 27, 2020 (es)
  9. ↑ Cártel de los Soles: Chávez ordenó llenar EEUU con cocaína de las FARC panamapost.com, of September 13, 2019 (es)
  10. ↑ El Caso Marcano panasvenezolanos.com, of May 23, 2019 (es)
  11. ^ Jorge Castro: A tres meses del asesinato del concejal y periodista Mauro Marcano aporrea.org, of January 5, 2005 (es)
  12. ↑ Narcoavioneta: Detienen a oficial de la GNB en Punto Fijo reportero24.com, from September 27, 2011 (es)
  13. ↑ Record find in Air France machine - 1.3 tons of cocaine discovered n-tv.de, from September 23, 2013
  14. ↑ El jefe de seguridad del número dos chavista deserta a EE.UU. y le acusa de narcotráfico abc.es, of August 18, 2015 (es)
  15. ↑ Edylberto José Molina Molina poderopediave.org, accessed March 27, 2020 (es)
  16. ↑ Cartel de los Soles insightcrime.org, November 1, 2016 (es)
  17. ↑ Nicolás Maduro Moros and 14 current and former Venezuelan officials charged with narco-terrorism, corruption, drug trafficking and other criminal charges dea.gov, from March 26, 2020 (en)
  18. ↑ USA put bounty on Nicolas Maduro from dw.com, March 26, 2020
  19. ↑ Se entregó general venezolano Clíver Alcalá a autoridades de EE. UU. eltiempo.com, from March 27, 2020 (es)
  20. ↑ El cartel bolivariano impactocna.com, November 12, 2013 (es)

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