Yes. Multiple reports describe powerful criminal organizations and cartel-like networks operating in and around Venezuela, though the picture is more complex than “classic” Mexican-style cartels.

Key point: yes, but different

  • Venezuela is widely described by critics as a narco-state , where parts of the state apparatus itself are allegedly involved in large‑scale drug trafficking instead of just tolerating outside cartels.
  • Rather than one unified group, there is a mix of state‑linked networks, prison mega‑gangs, and foreign cartels using Venezuelan territory as a corridor for cocaine and other drugs.

Cartel de los Soles

  • The most talked‑about organization is the “Cartel de los Soles” (“Cartel of the Suns”), a loose term used for high‑ranking Venezuelan military and officials accused of coordinating cocaine shipments, facilitating routes, and protecting traffickers.
  • U.S. indictments and media investigations allege that senior officials, including NicolĂĄs Maduro and top officers, used state resources to move tons of cocaine toward the U.S. and Europe in alliance with Colombian groups.

Other criminal groups and foreign cartels

  • Transnational groups like Colombia’s dissident FARC elements and ELN, as well as other regional traffickers, are reported to operate on or through Venezuelan territory, collaborating with local actors for routes, protection, and logistics.
  • Venezuelan prison‑origin gangs such as “Tren de Aragua” have expanded across Latin America, involved in extortion, trafficking, and other crimes, and are often mentioned alongside classic cartels in regional security discussions.

Debate and competing narratives

  • Some analysts and former UN drug officials argue that calling Venezuela a full‑blown narco‑state or portraying Cartel de los Soles as a single, disciplined cartel is politically loaded and exaggerates or simplifies a more fragmented criminal landscape.
  • Others counter that, regardless of terminology, there is extensive evidence of systematic corruption and state‑protected trafficking networks, which for practical purposes function very much like cartels embedded in government structures.

Latest context and “trending topic”

  • In the last year and into 2026, Venezuela’s alleged cartel structures have been at the center of international headlines because of indictments against top officials, designations of Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization, and military and intelligence operations targeting “narco‑terror” networks linked to Caracas.
  • These developments fuel intense forum and social‑media debates about how much is hard evidence versus geopolitical framing, and whether Venezuela is being singled out compared with other drug‑transit states in the region.

TL;DR: There are cartel‑like organizations in Venezuela—especially the alleged Cartel de los Soles and major gangs such as Tren de Aragua—but they are deeply intertwined with parts of the state and the prison system, making the situation more about a criminalized state structure than just foreign cartels moving in.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.