InSight Crime Event: Venezuela's Cocaine Revolution

InSight Crime has presented its latest report, Venezuela’s Cocaine Revolution, the result of three years of investigation by the Venezuelan Investigative Unit.

Venezuela’s Move to Cocaine Production: Crops, Chemists and Criminal Evolution

In October 2021, the Venezuelan Ministry of the Interior issued an ordinary looking statement about an antinarcotics operation in the state of Zulia that had extraordinary implications: the military had…

Maduro Seeks to Regulate the Cocaine Trade

In 2013, Nicolás Maduro became president of one of the world’s most important cocaine hubs, inheriting a unique drug trafficking eco-system where the line between the underworld and the state…

The Paraguaná Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Political Power in Venezuela

On April 3, 2021, police in the east Venezuelan state of Anzoátegui acted on a tip-off to intercept a silver Toyota Corolla. They interrogated the driver, a middle-aged woman accompanied…

Gordito González and Venezuela’s Narco-brokers

In 2016, two adopted nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro were found guilty of a conspiracy to bring 800 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.

Beyond the Cartel of the Suns

In 2020, the US Department of Justice released a bombshell indictment charging sitting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and other senior members of his government with “narco-terrorism” and accusing them of…

Cartel of the Suns

The “Cartel of the Suns” (Cartel de los Soles) is the term used to describe the shadowy groups inside Venezuela’s military that are involved in a wide range of criminal…

Venezuelan Money Laundering Schemes Continue To Thrive in US

The seizure of a fleet of luxury cars bound for Venezuela in Florida has shown how officials and allies of President Nicolás Maduro are still seeking to sidestep US sanctions…

Venezuela President's Drug Trafficking Exploits Detailed in US Indictment

US prosecutors have charged Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his closest allies with drug trafficking and corruption, cementing the embattled nation's reputation as a mafia state.

Clandestine Airstrips, Drug Flights Becoming More Frequent Across Venezuela

Clandestine airstrips found in Venezuela and suspected drug flights leaving the country soared in 2019, with different parts of the country being used as aerial connection points, but the total…

Report Recognizes Drug Trafficking Influence of Venezuela’s Cartel of the Suns

For the first time, the International Narcotics Control Board has recognized the growing influence of the "Cartel of the Suns," the name for a criminal structure within the ranks of…

GameChangers 2019: As Venezuela Sinks, Maduro’s Criminal Ties Keep Him Afloat

Venezuela remained mired in crisis throughout 2019, yet Nicolás Maduro actually consolidated his regime. How did he do it?…