Wiretaps catch Colombian cocaine cartel discussing ‘Cartel of the Suns’ with Venezuelan military
The dealer told his client that he had a relative in the “little red party” connected to the “famous Sun” who would, for a down payment, ensure the safe passage of the container and cocaine on a ship docked in a Venezuelan port.
The cocaine – a 32kg batch hidden inside two power generators – was destined for Libya.
The seller, named Luisito, was trying to assure the customer, named Julio, that Venezuelan military officials would not steal his money or luggage, according to a recording obtained by CBC News.
“It has to be a guarantor,” Julio said, according to a cellphone recording.
“They are soldiers, there is no need for a guarantee from them… they work there, the day the truck arrives they find it and place it. [on the ship],” said Luisito.
CBC News has obtained more than a dozen recordings from a successful two-year Colombian police investigation into an international drug-trafficking organization based in Colombia.
The organization transported cocaine to the US, Europe, Asia and northern Africa by air using human drug mules and by sea using shipping containers.
A two-year investigation, which culminated in 2016, was launched by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Cellphone conversations captured members of the group discussing dealings with Venezuelan military officials in charge of the Guarano International Port in the province. The Falcon.
Venezuelathe government has denied any links to drug trafficking and no government group or military officials were picked up in the wiretaps obtained by CBC News.
In telephone interviews, the seller Luisito repeatedly used the nickname “The Suns” whenever they were men.senior Venezuelan military officials. This nickname refers to the insignia that Venezuelan military officers wear on their uniforms to indicate their rank.
He also mentions the color red every time he talks to the ruling party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
“These interviews help us to understand that, effectively, the ‘Cartel of the Suns’ exists…. They are high-ranking police officers, generals, who had the power to control the export of cocaine from their country,” said a former ambassador of the Colombian anti-narcotics organization that worked on the case.
CBC News is not revealing the identity of the former agent, because he was not authorized to release internal details of the police investigation.
The former agent said he discovered the name “Cartel of the Suns” in another investigation through conversations with confidential informants. He said the Venezuelan government has deep ties to the drug trade.
“The sources told us about secret airstrips where they were sending planes full of goods and the power they have to control everything related to drug trafficking,” said the agent.
He said the US criminal case against cVenezuela’s president Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, may be framed for similar crimes.
Maduro was captured along with Flores during a US military strike on Jan. 3. They are facing charges in US District Court in New York City, for conspiracy to commit narco-terrorism and conspiracy to import cocaine, among other charges.
The US indictment against Maduro and Flores describes the Cartel of the Suns as a “sponsorship system” in which “Venezuelan dignitaries enrich themselves through drug trafficking and the protection of drug traffickers they associate with.”
Wiretaps obtained by CBC News, all recorded in April 2016, revealed how Julio planned to use fake Venezuelan identification cards and a local company to ship cocaine in a container filled with two generators and similar items, to weigh about a ton.
Julio wanted to move a container by sea from Venezuela to Brazil and then to Libya. He was burned by another contact before he turned to Luisito, a trafficker who said he had recently transported 50 kg of cocaine to Portugal hidden in a cargo of several tons of coal, according to the wire.
Luisito said he has a relative who was part of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
“He did little things there and he has little energy there in Punto Fijo,” Luisito said, according to a wiretap held at 6:10 pm on April 4, 2016.
Punto Fijo is a city near the Guarano International Port, which sits on a peninsula about 548 kilometers northwest of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas.
A former Colombian anti-narcotics police agent said he discovered the name ‘Cartel of the Suns’ in the investigation through wiretaps and interviews with confidential informants. He said the Venezuelan government has deep ties to the drug trade. CBC News is not disclosing the identity of the agent because he was not authorized to release internal details of the police investigation.
“And working with these people you mention, isn’t it dangerous?” said Julio, in a second call that was made on the same day at 6:43 pm
“The little red guys? No, they’re the ones who run the ports … there’s no more DEA [U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration]nothing,” said Luisito.
“I don’t want them to steal.” [the product],” said Julio.
“They don’t do need to, they are the ones who do this with Langa who are famous, they are connected with Langa who sends luggage,” said Luisito “They have their own ways of sending things.”
Luisito saidIn his case, he was dealing with a senior officer and three subordinates working together.
He said the military completely controls the port and each revolution runs its own side business, charging a base price of $8,000 US upwards, depending on the price, to allow containers to be loaded onto ships.
“They’ve been doing this for a long time… and when I told [my relative] that it was only 16 kg of cocaine [per generator]he said that is not much, if you knew how much it is [cocaine] they send here,” said Luisito, in the same call.
Julio was still worried about being ripped off.
“How do I know that the police will not steal money or steal [generators]?” he said, during a third call that was held at 7 pm on the same day.
“They ship product every day… [the Venezuelan currency]they are interested [U.S.] dollars, because they send them to tax centers overseas,” said Luisito.
Luisito told Julio that he just needed to make sure his documents were there so he could continue with the entry process, because the military officials were only conducting a “drug test”.
The one who worked for drug officials in Colombia told CBC News that the goods arrived in Libya but the authorities eventually charged Luisito and Julio, who were eventually convicted and sent to prison.
