Weekend Read: The CIA's Cartel

Trump officials are said to be preparing to justify strikes on Venezuela by invoking the “Cartel of the Suns." History shows that the same network once operated inside a CIA-run anti-drug program.

A DEA investigation found that nearly a ton of cocaine shipped under CIA auspices reached U.S. streets. Former DEA Administrator Robert Bonner said the agency was complicit in drug smuggling. (Illustration by ChatGPT)

The Trump administration wants to bomb Venezuela’s “Cartel of the Suns.” Three decades ago, members of that same cartel were fighting the drug war with the CIA.

According to The New York Times, Justice Department lawyers are drafting a legal rationale for an attack on Venezuela based on President Nicolás Maduro’s role as leader of a drug-trafficking organization—the Cartel de los Soles, or “Cartel of the Suns.” The designation would allow the White House to conduct military strikes without congressional authorization, skirting the longstanding U.S. ban on political assassinations.

Prosecutors in New York indicted Maduro on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges in 2020, alleging that under his leadership, the Cartel de los Soles sought not only to enrich its members but to “fl…