As corruption expanded under President Hugo Chávez (from 1999) and later President Nicolás Maduro, the term "Cartel de los Soles" came to be applied to a loosely defined network of Venezuelan police and government officials that facilitated and profited from activities including illegal mining, fuel trafficking, and drug trafficking.
January 01, 1999
high
temporal
Evolution of the term to describe a broader network of corrupt officials and illicit economic activities.