How do criminal groups in Venezuela collaborate with Mexican cartels for US trafficking?
Executive summary
Venezuelan criminal groups — described by U.S. authorities as “Cartel de los Soles” and linked to parts of the Venezuelan state — are alleged to provide routes, protection and facilitation for narcotics that ultimately move toward the United States, and the U.S. Treasury has sanctioned that network and tied it to Mexican and other cartels such as Sinaloa [1]. Independent analysts and human-rights groups caution that most fentanyl and the bulk of cocaine reaching the U.S. originate in Mexico and Colombia respectively, and available reporting finds no proven broad-based Venezuelan role in fentanyl manufacture [2] [3].
1. How U.S. officials describe the Venezuela–Mexico trafficking nexus
U.S. agencies have publicly portrayed a nexus in which Venezuelan officials and military-linked networks provide airstrips, ports and institutional protection that enable transnational trafficking, and Washington’s sanctions name Cartel de los Soles and link it to Mexican cartels such as the Sinaloa Cartel [1]. The Treasury’s OFAC designated Cartel de los Soles as a specially designated global terrorist entity and identified corruption of military and state institutions as a facilitating mechanism for moving narcotics toward markets that include the United States [1].
2. Practical collaboration reported between Venezuelan groups and Mexican cartels
Available sources document U.S. allegations that Venezuelan networks have provided logistical support and safe transshipment points that benefit larger cartels, and Treasury actions emphasize financial and facilitation ties between Venezuelan criminal actors and foreign cartels including Sinaloa [1]. Reporting cited by U.S. officials frames Venezuela as a source of cocaine that is routed through regional chains — often ending up in Mexico where powerful cartels control onward movement into the U.S. [2] [3].
3. What analysts and other sources dispute or qualify
Independent analysts and regional researchers caution that Venezuela’s role is often overstated in public rhetoric: detailed reporting and official reviews have found that most fentanyl affecting the U.S. is sourced in Mexico and most cocaine originates in Colombia, with Venezuela playing a role in transshipment rather than primary production for those markets [2] [3]. WOLA and investigative pieces note there is “no proof” that fentanyl is produced or trafficked from Venezuela or much of South America, and that claims tying Venezuela to fentanyl flows lack clear evidence in public reporting [2].
4. How Mexican cartels fit into the route and business model
Mexico’s major cartels — including Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation — control distribution and manufacture of fentanyl precursors and are the primary source of fentanyl-related flows into the U.S., per U.S. State Department and investigative reporting [2] [4]. U.S. sanctions and designations highlight cooperation where Venezuelan groups provide product or transit and Mexican cartels supply production, distribution, and the border networks that move drugs into U.S. markets [1] [2].
5. The limits of public evidence and competing narratives
Key intelligence and legal findings are disputed: a declassified NIC memo concluded the Venezuelan government was not substantially directing some named gangs, and watchdog reporting argues the “Cartel de los Soles” label is more a media shorthand for alleged corrupt officials than a coherent cartel hierarchy [5] [6]. Civil-society sources warn U.S. counter-drug militarized actions risk conflating corruption, criminal gangs and political opposition, with real-world consequences [7] [8].
6. Policy and enforcement implications: why it matters
Treasury sanctions and the U.S. decision to label groups as terrorist or to carry out strikes reflect a policy choice to treat parts of the trafficking problem as state-enabled, and those moves aim to disrupt facilitation networks and financial channels tied to Venezuela and allied gangs [1] [9]. Critics argue that kinetic tactics (boat strikes, military build-ups) will have limited effect on cartel supply chains that are deeply embedded in Mexico and Colombia, and may inflame geopolitics without cutting demand or production [8] [2].
7. Bottom line and open questions
U.S. authorities assert Venezuelan criminal-state links help funnel drugs to Mexican cartels and then to the United States, and have sanctioned named networks accordingly [1]. But independent reporting and government reviews emphasize that Mexico and Colombia remain the principal production and manufacturing centers for the substances most lethal in the U.S. — especially fentanyl — and available sources do not demonstrate Venezuela as a primary manufacturing hub for fentanyl [2] [3]. Many details about operational ties, command structures and the extent of state direction remain contested or classified in the public record [5] [6].