Chavista leader Diosdado Cabello denied the existence of the so-called Cartel of the Suns and asserted that it is "a baseless narrative" driven by sectors that seek to attack Venezuela.
“El Cartel de los Soles has never existed. It has never existed. It has never existed. It is a narrative. And it is not an argument for the attack. The argument for the attack is oil,” Cabello said to official television networks.
Cabello currently holds the position of coordinator of the Political Council of the PSUV (January 2026) and is regarded as a spokesperson, operator, and political leader of chavismo loyal to Nicolás Maduro, under the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez.
The leader stated that the accusations of drug trafficking are unfounded.
"We have never been implied in the subject of the Cartel of the Suns or criminal gangs. Never. But when it comes to wealth, Venezuela indeed has a lot of riches," he stated.
Cabello referred to the rumors about the existence of the cartel as “a great lie used by certain sectors, already debunked by themselves.”
He added that the government's fight will continue "for the tranquility and peace of the country," and that, in terms of drugs, Venezuela has delivered "consecutive and decisive blows."
Cabello's statements come just a few days after the United States reported that, while it maintains charges of drug trafficking and narco-terrorism in its indictment against Nicolás Maduro, the Department of Justice removed the direct mention of the Venezuelan leader as the head of the so-called "Cartel de los Soles", a label that has influenced the political and judicial discourse of Washington against chavismo over the past few months.
These statements add to recent ones in which Cabello accused the United States of lying about the Venezuelan situation and denied the existence of repression or political persecution in the country.
The so-called Cartel of the Suns has been referenced in international investigations for over a decade, and in 2020, U.S. justice filed drug trafficking charges against Nicolás Maduro, Cabello, and other high-ranking officials.
Cabello has repeatedly denied those accusations.
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