The Cartel of the Suns —designated as a global terrorist organization by the United States— is seen as the point of realization of the alliance that Gustavo Petro maintains with Nicolás Maduro and organized crime.
This warning comes from Fernando Vargas Quemba, director of the Victims Committee of the FARC, a lawyer, professor, human rights defender, and spokesperson for victims of communism in Colombia, who analyzes the possible links between the Colombian president and the narcoterrorism represented by the Venezuelan regime and its agents.
Vargas Quemba asserts that a regional destabilization strategy exists, with Cuba as a central actor, aiming to unify Colombia and Venezuela under a socialist government, funded by drug trafficking and illicit mineral exploitation.
This would all be part of a “hybrid warfare” where misinformation plays a fundamental role.
Petro-Maduro Alignment and Regional Strategy
Fernando Vargas Quemba describes the relationship between Gustavo Petro and Nicolás Maduro as “closer than ever to strategic agreements” in which they supposedly work to realize a long-standing project of establishing socialism in Colombia.
At the same time, he notes that by aligning his government with Maduro instead of the U.S., Petro adopts a stance that prioritizes sovereignty over security, even providing “some support to what the United States has classified as a global terrorist organization.”
In this sense, the analyst criticizes President Petro’s position of urging Colombian military personnel to “defend Maduro and not Colombians.” This stance could mark the neogranadino president in response to potential military actions by the U.S. against the Cartel of the Suns.
The Cartel of the Suns and Drug Trafficking
Fernando Vargas Quemba argues that, following the designation of the Cartel of the Suns as a global terrorist organization by the U.S. government, it is necessary to discuss and establish what kind of relationship Gustavo Petro maintains with organized crime or terrorism. Such a link would arise from the Colombian president’s defense of Nicolás Maduro’s regime, head of this criminal organization.
Vargas refers to the rebuttal that Diosdado Cabello made in response to U.S. accusations, citing a UN report—whose investigation in Venezuela was not possible—to deny drug production, processing, and transit in Venezuela. Cabello claims that Venezuela is not a transit country and accuses the DEA of being “the only drug cartel operating in plain sight.”
Similarly, the Colombian analyst maintains that the first Cartel of the Suns to emerge in Latin America was Cuba, with Fidel Castro at the helm, facilitating the transit of cocaine from Colombia—Cartel of Medellín, M19—toward Central America, Europe, or the U.S.
Cuba as a Destabilizing Stronghold and Engine of the Strategy
Fernando Vargas Quemba accuses Cuba of being the origin of regional violence, describing the Cuban dictatorship as a “destabilizing stronghold throughout the hemisphere, from Central America to South America entirely.” This is compounded by Cuba’s history of inciting violence “even in Africa and Asia.”
He recalls that Cuba, as a communist stronghold backed by the Soviet Union—and now by China—with “links to Islamic and jihadist terrorism,” has influenced Venezuela’s international politics.
Likewise, Venezuela, under chavismo-madurismo, is seen as another “destabilizing engine of the region” that uses its resources to enrich a corrupt elite and “finance political propaganda campaigns in Latin America.”
Vargas Quemba warns that “as long as the issue of Cuba is not addressed, Venezuela will never be free. Cuba still has, after the United States and Brazil, the third most powerful army in the Americas.”
Hybrid War and Misinformation
Misinformation is deemed one of the fundamental pieces of hybrid warfare mechanisms. It is clearly palpable in Colombia, Venezuela, the United States, and globally.
This situation is only evident by observing the dynamics that occur as soon as the U.S. Secretary of State makes a statement, as propaganda from the regime is immediately activated, aligning with other regional propaganda apparatuses to sabotage and misinform.
The chavista narrative—voiced by Diosdado Cabello—uses the “mirror strategy,” accusing the U.S.—specifically the DEA—of being the true drug cartel, while denying evidence of production and transit in Venezuela.
Fernando Vargas also warns that Petro’s alleged “enmity” with chavismo is merely an “appearance to show Colombians that he is not surrendering to the Venezuelan tyranny to win some public votes.” This is reminiscent of Juan Manuel Santos’s stance toward Chávez before his presidency.
Corruption, Control, and Leftist Strategy in Colombia
Fernando Vargas Quemba emphasizes that Gustavo Petro is not the first socialist-leaning president in Colombia, as, in his view, the left has empowered itself with drug trafficking.
He points out that the Colombia-Venezuela border is vast and a focal point for many destabilizing elements, including coca crops grown in the thousands of hectares that comprise it.
He notes that, besides drug trafficking, illegal mineral exploitation—especially gold—is the main source of financing for the left and armed groups. This comes due to its economic yield and with “fewer problems than cocaine.”
Vargas suggests that Gustavo Petro’s rise to power is a consequence of the peace agreements from Juan Manuel Santos’s administration that halted fumigations and the fight against drug trafficking, negotiated with the FARC, and granted them power. This led to a “critical situation” and “high violent tides” in Colombia.
The left is viewed as “insatiable with state budgets,” using resource distribution to “maintain power.” An example of this is the funding of “urban forces” or violent youths, to whom sums between $300 and $400 are handed monthly to over 100,000 individuals, as a control strategy.
Vargas Quemba also highlights the lack of control over Venezuelan migration towards Colombia. He suggests that the regime’s lack of opposition to the exit of its nationals indicates a strategy of destabilization through disordered migration. “They sent us many people from the socialist regime to infiltrate areas; they did it here, too.” The growth of the Tren de Aragua would be another signal of this.
Weakness of the Opposition and Traditional Political Class
In Fernando Vargas Quemba’s opinion, there exists a paralysis in the opposition, which isn’t prepared “to engage in a political debate with these people.”
He further denounces that “the right is infiltrated by people who say they’re rightist but aren’t, and who end up being a sort of bridge for the return of socialists or forgive them.”
He criticizes Álvaro Uribe’s Centro Democrático party for allowing dialogue and political arrangements, which would imply uniting “with the perpetrators of this harm.” In this sense, he recalls that Uribe is actually socialist, as he was part of Ernesto Samper’s liberal line and promoted the M19 amnesty in 1993. He characterizes his conflict with the current radical left as a struggle between “orthodox radical socialism” and “let’s say, democratic socialism.”
He believes that Uribe’s current situation stems from the retribution for having “militarily decapitated the FARC leadership” and dismantled paramilitary and self-defense groups.
U.S. Perspective and Inaction
Fernando Vargas Quemba considers the reward offer for Nicolás Maduro misguided, as it strengthens the Venezuelan regime’s political platform globally.
He perceives the United States as “very lenient in its handling of what was its backyard.” He notes that, despite U.S. conviction that “the Venezuelan regime is an international terrorist system that generates violence across the hemisphere,” no direct military actions have been taken to “decapitate what needs to be decapitated in a military operation that liberates Venezuela.”
Implications and Future Perspectives
Fernando Vargas Quemba concludes his discourse with a warning that the situation in Colombia and Venezuela is “critical,” as radical socialism is advancing and seeks the unification of both countries under the same political vision.
He poses the need for a multinational force to combat transnational crime and terrorism in the region, as well as a more decisive stance from the United States. He maintains that, if “Cuba does not achieve its freedom, neither Venezuela nor Colombia will find peace.”
Watch in Sin Filtros “The Cartel of the Suns: Cuba, Petro, and the Secret Plan to Control Colombia”: