The term Cartel de los Soles translates to Cartel of the Suns, referring to the sun insignias worn on the uniforms of high-ranking Venezuelan [BLANK] officials involved in drug trafficking and corruption.

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The term Cartel de los Soles originated in the 1990s to describe high-ranking Venezuelan military officers who profited from drug trafficking. The name refers to the sun-shaped epaulettes on Venezuelan generals' uniforms—brigade commanders wore a single sun insignia, and when division commanders (who wore double suns) were later accused of trafficking, the name evolved into "Cartel of the Suns." The term first appeared in 1993 following a scandal involving Venezuelan military officials implicated in a CIA plot to smuggle cocaine. Under Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, the network expanded to include intelligence officials, legislators, and judges. The March 2020 U.S. Justice Department indictment alleged that Maduro and Diosdado Cabello led this structure, which corrupted Venezuela's military, intelligence apparatus, legislature, and judiciary to facilitate importing tons of cocaine into the United States.

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