Colombian President Gustavo Petro again spoke out about the alleged presence in the country of the so-called Cartel de los Soles, the supposed drug-trafficking group linked to the Venezuelan regime, and defended what he describes as his government’s significant advances in the fight against drug trafficking.
At an event held at the Jose Maria Cordova Military School in Bogota, the president denied the existence of that cartel on Colombian soil and vehemently rejected accusations of passivity toward organized crime. He recalled the sacrifice of the police and of many citizens who have fallen in the battle against the mafias, and highlighted the state’s efforts to confront drug trafficking with resolve.
Petro urged Colombians to strengthen the conviction that greed is “an enemy of life,” stressing that not all citizens allow themselves to be bought or surrender fundamental values for money. He asserted that his government is not for sale and evoked the figure of Simon Bolivar when speaking of freedom, also referring to the 1991 Constitution as the framework that reaffirms those principles of dignity and independence.
Colombia’s Petro highlights anti-drug efforts, again denies ‘Cartel de los Soles’ exists
Petro’s stance comes amid growing legislative and media pressure to recognize the “Cartel de los Soles” as a real transnational threat with a presence in Colombia. Recently, the Colombian House of Representatives approved a proposal urging the government to formally declare it as such and to coordinate a joint strategy with international allies — such as the United States and Israel — to dismantle its networks.
However, the Colombian president forcefully opposed that decision, accusing Congress of committing an “abuse of its powers” and claiming that the declaration responds to the interests of the “far right.”
In his view, that structure does not exist as such in Colombia; what exists, he said, is a set of criminal networks — what he calls the Narcotrafficking Board — whose leaders would be based in Europe or the Middle East, and not directly linked to officials of the Venezuelan regime.
During his address, Petro highlighted the state actions carried out under his administration to combat drug trafficking and rejected the narrative that his government has been passive or permissive toward organized crime. He expressed his disdain for those “who come today to say that there is a ‘Cartel de los Soles‘ in Colombia” without considering the lives that have been lost — both civilians and members of the security forces — in the fight against cocaine.
The president insisted that greed — that desire to enrich oneself at the expense of others’ suffering — is a powerful enemy, but the collective moral compass of many Colombians, he said, remains firm. He emphasized that not everyone sells out, and in that sense, he described drug trafficking as a phenomenon that “seeks to enslave” those who allow themselves to be corrupted, in contrast to the historic mandate of freedom and dignity represented by the Constitution and Bolivarian ideals.
Lastly, Petro once again — as he often does in his speeches — referred to history. Drawing on Simon Bolivar, he referenced the Colombian Constitution and the defense of freedom championed both by the independence forebear and by the Magna Carta. “Those who were forcibly enslaved were put up for sale, and anyone who sells themselves becomes a slave. And Bolivar said we were free people. And the ’91 Constitution repeats and mandates it.”
#NoticiaW | "Cuánta sangre se ha derramado en manos del narcotráfico, como para que vengan a decir que no luchamos contra el narcotráfico y que hay un Cartel de los Soles": el presidente Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) cuestionó advertencia de EE.UU. de intervención en Colombia. pic.twitter.com/di8OTtEoS0
— W Radio Colombia (@WRadioColombia) December 4, 2025
The long shadow of the ‘Cartel de los Soles’
Over the past two decades, the so-called “Cartel de los Soles” has become one of the most contentious topics in the regional debate on organized crime and political power in Venezuela. The term — initially coined to refer to officers of the Bolivarian National Guard who wear “suns” on their insignia — has been used by foreign intelligence agencies, Venezuelan opposition figures, and various journalistic investigations to describe an alleged network of military personnel and high-ranking officials engaged in drug trafficking, smuggling, and corruption.
Those who assert its existence cite reports from U.S. and European agencies, testimonies from defectors, and seizures of shipments that allegedly originated in Venezuelan territory. They claim the group has consolidated a hierarchical structure that controls air and maritime routes to the Caribbean and Central America, facilitating the transit of cocaine produced in Colombia. These accounts suggest that Venezuela’s institutional crisis has favored the consolidation of these clandestine networks, supposedly protected by sectors of the state.
However, the Venezuelan government categorically rejects these accusations and interprets them as part of a political strategy to justify international sanctions. Official spokespeople argue that there is no solid judicial evidence and that the cited cases correspond to individual actions, not an organized cartel. They also emphasize that many of the reports come from agencies with geopolitical interests in the region.
In Colombia, the debate has gained traction in recent years. Some security analysts have warned about the possible presence of operators linked to the alleged cartel in border areas, especially in corridors where illegal economies converge. Other experts, however, believe such claims reflect dynamics of information warfare more than verifiable facts. The absence of conclusive judicial investigations keeps the issue in an ambiguous space, where accusations, propaganda, and information gaps intertwine.