Kartel Matahari (Spanyol: Cartel de los Solescode: es is deprecated , pelafalan dalam bahasa Spanyol:[kaɾˈteldelos'soles]) adalah sebuah istilah umum yang digunakan untuk mendeskripsikan suatu dugaan[7] jaringan perdagangan narkoba dan aktivitas kriminal terkait yang melibatkan para anggota Angkatan Bersenjata Nasional Bolivar Venezuela, termasuk para perwira tinggi dan pejabat politik.[2][8][9]
↑Mayes-Osterman, Cybele (25 November 2025). "What the US labeling Venezuelan 'Cartel de los Soles' terrorists means". USA Today. The name dates back to 1993, when two anti-narcotics officials in Venezuela's military were themselves accused of drug trafficking, according to InSight Crime, a think tank that tracks organized crime in the Americas. The term – which translates to "cartel of the suns" – refers to the sun design on the epaulettes of Venezuela's military commanders. The term "Cartel de los Soles" grew out of the slang of that era, Tree said.
↑"Incautación rusa de cocaína sacó a flote "la fruta podrida" de la dictadura orteguista"[Russian cocaine seizure exposed the “rotten fruit” of the Ortega dictatorship]. Confidencial (dalam bahasa Spanyol). 14 January 2024. Para Orozco, la permisividad con que opera el crimen organizado en Nicaragua, es parte de la captura del Estado por una "estructura familiar que tiene vínculos con diferentes tipos de organizaciones criminales y no criminales". Apuntó que al clan familiar de Daniel Ortega y Rosario Murillo tiene una "vinculación con el Cártel de los Soles", que es comandado por las altas esferas políticas de Venezuela.[For Orozco, the permissiveness with which organised crime operates in Nicaragua is part of the capture of the state by a ‘family structure that has links to different types of criminal and non-criminal organisations’. He pointed out that the family clan of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has ‘links to the Cartel de los Soles’, which is commanded by the upper echelons of Venezuelan politics.]
1234Savage, Charlie. "Trump Team Calls Maduro a 'Cartel' Boss. That Word Doesn't Mean What You Think". The New York Times. Diakses tanggal 19 November 2025. ...Jeremy McDermott, the co-founder of InSight Crime, a think tank that focuses on crime and security in Latin America and has written reports referring to Cartel de los Soles for more than a decade. He said Venezuela's government has significant drug trafficking embedded within it. But, he said, the shorthand term refers to all drug trafficking in the military, not a single drug trafficking organization. "The Cartel of the Suns became a catchall phrase for state-embedded drug trafficking, but these are not integrated — the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. It is absolutely not an organization, per se"
Wells, Ione (2025-11-17). "US to designate Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles as terrorists". BBC Home. Diakses tanggal 2026-01-04. The Cartel de los Soles is a term used by the US to describe an alleged criminal group involved in activities such as drug-trafficking and illegal mining
Burgess, Katrina; Corrales, Javier (2024). "Petro-states, oil shocks, and regime change: Venezuela and Ecuador, 2013–2023". Environment and Security. 2 (3). Sage Publishing: 482–483. doi:10.1177/27538796241237287. Already a source of revenue for the regime, cocaine trafficking between the Cartel of the Suns, an alleged network of transnational drug-trafficking and criminal cells embedded in the Venezuelan military and government, and former ELN and FARC militants grew to unprecedented levels.
"Venezuelan jets fly near US Navy ship amid rising tensions". Anadolu Agency. 5 September 2025. The US has long accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns), an alleged network of high-level drug trafficking and organized crime within the Venezuelan government and military.
O'Connor, Tom (25 November 2025). "Trump May Defeat Maduro Without Battle and Lose War in Venezuela". Newsweek. Trump administration officials have also publicly announced the U.S. would designate the Cartel of the Suns, or Cartel de los Soles, the alleged network of state-sponsored actors involved in narco-trafficking and other illicit activities, as a foreign terrorist organization, potentially opening new pathways for U.S. action in Venezuela.
"Venezuela: Prospects and Risks of a Military Operation". Robert Lansing Institute. 8 September 2025. Cartel de los Soles ("Cartel of the Suns"). What is it? An alleged network of high-ranking Venezuelan military officials involved in international drug trafficking, including cocaine, oil smuggling, illegal mining, and money laundering.
"Memphis Sees Lowest Crime Rates in Over 20 Years, Says Mayor Paul Young". Prensa Latina. 24 November 2025. The US State Department on Monday designated the "Cartel of the Suns", an alleged network of high-ranking Venezuelan military officers and state officials involved in criminal activities, particularly drug trafficking, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
Romero, Mauricio (4 December 2025). "Ex-Venezuelan Spy Chief's Explosive Letter to Trump Alleges Maduro-Led Narco Campaign Against US". Colombia One. Carvajal's accusations arrive amid a long and contentious legal saga. U.S. prosecutors have long accused Carvajal of helping to run a so-called Cartel of the Suns — an alleged criminal network of Venezuelan military officials that collaborated with Colombian guerrilla groups to traffic cocaine into the United States.
"Trump aide Stephen Miller suggests Venezuelan oil belongs to US". Al Jazeera. 17 December 2025. In November, the administration designated the "Cartel de los Soles" as a "foreign terrorist organisation", even though the term does not refer to an organised group. Rather, it is a reference to alleged corruption within the Venezuelan government and military.
Pratama, Ramdhani; Monica, Lisa (29 November 2025). "US increases pressure on Venezuela, tensions in the Caribbean rise". IDN Financials. Tensions escalated further after the US added Cartel de los Soles to its list of foreign terrorist organisations – a label seen as referring more to alleged corruption among Venezuelan officials than to an organised drug cartel.
"US military hits Caracas as Trump says President Maduro taken into custody". Daily News Egypt. 3 January 2026. In 2020, the US Department of Justice issued indictments against Maduro and senior officials, accusing them of "narco-terrorism" and leading the "Cartel of the Suns"—a term used to describe alleged corruption and drug trafficking by high-ranking military officers.
"Venezuela ex-intel chief missing ahead of US extradition"(PDF). Kuwait Times (17984): 7. 14 November 2019. In it, the agent refers to Carvajal as a member of the so-called "Cartel of the Suns", an umbrella term for alleged networks within the Venezuelan military and government that aid and abet drug trafficking.
"Venezuela rejects US terrorist designation as 'ridiculous lie'". Le Monde. 25 November 2025. Washington accuses Maduro of heading an alleged Venezuelan drug cartel, "Cartel de los Soles" (Cartel of the Suns), which the United States on Monday designated a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).
"US slaps sanctions on Maduro relatives as Venezuela war fears build". France24. 11 December 2025. Washington has accused Maduro of leading the alleged "Cartel of the Suns," which it declared a "narco-terrorist" organization last month, and has offered a $50 million reward for information leading to his capture.
"Venezuela Says US Terrorist Designation A 'Ridiculous Lie'". Barrons. 24 November 2025. Washington accuses Maduro of heading an alleged Venezuelan drug cartel, "Cartel de los Soles" (Cartel of the Suns), which the United States on Monday designated a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).
Hauslohner, Abigail; Daniels, Joe (15 September 2025). "US military strikes alleged Venezuelan drug boat in Caribbean". Financial Times. Maduro — the revolutionary socialist who has ruled Venezuela with an iron fist since assuming office in 2013 — is regarded by the Trump administration as a leader of the Cartel of the Suns, an alleged drug trafficking organisation run by Venezuela's political and military elite.
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