US officials took a Venezuelan phrase for corrupt leaders as a real organization, accusing Maduro of being its head
The Department of Justice significantly reduced reference to the Cartel de Los Soles in an updated indictment of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro who has been charged “with narco-terrorism conspiracy” and other charges. Maduro pleaded not guilty to the charges Monday.
The original 2020 grand jury indictment mentioned the Cartel de Los Soles 32 times and referred to Maduro as its head. The amended indictment, released on Saturday, only includes the phrase twice and now describes it as a “patronage system” and removed the explicit reference that these officials are literal members of the cartel.
The phrase, meaning “Cartel of the Suns” in English, was coined by Venezuelan journalists in the 1990s as shorthand for leaders corrupted by drug money — not an actual cartel.
