Cartel of the Suns

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Cartel de los Soles

The group's name comes from the "sun" insignia of Venezuelan generals.
Years active	1993–present
Territory	Venezuela
Ethnicity	Venezuelan and Venezuelan-American (Florida and Texas operations)
Leader(s)	Nicolás Maduro (alleged) Mario Camara (alleged) Tareck El Aissami (suspected)
Activities	Drug trafficking, arms trafficking, money laundering
Allies	Venezuela FARC[1] ELN FARC dissidents
Rivals	United States  Colombia

The Cartel of the Suns (Spanish: Cartel de los Soles) is a Venezuelan organization supposedly headed by high-ranking members of the Armed Forces of Venezuela who are involved in international drug trade.^[1] 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."^[2]