Inside Venezuela’s ‘Cartel of the Suns’: How a military network became key to the cocaine trade

For more than twenty years, American and Colombian officials have argued that Venezuela’s armed forces and senior government insiders have quietly enabled huge quantities of Colombian cocaine to pass through the country. Even though Venezuela produces almost no coca and has few processing labs, its geography makes it an ideal gateway. Smugglers move shipments across the porous border from Colombia, hand them to military officers or intermediaries who provide “safe passage,” and then route them by boat or aircraft toward the Caribbean, Central America and Europe, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Former Colombian intelligence director Alberto Romero describes the system as a full logistical package. According to him, National Guard and Army units help secure airstrips, shield trafficking r