As corruption in Venezuela expanded under Presidents Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro, the term "Cartel de los Soles" broadened in popular use to include police and government officials and activities such as illegal mining and fuel trafficking.
November 24, 2025
high
descriptive
Evolution of the term's usage to cover a wider set of actors and illicit activities
The United Nations estimates that scam networks based in Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and the Philippines extract tens of billions of dollars annually from victims worldwide through schemes that include fake investment scams and romance-based scams.
November 05, 2025
high
temporal
U.N. estimate describing annual global revenue and common scam types associated with Southeast Asian-based scam networks
Venezuelans began using the term 'Cartel de los Soles' in the 1990s to refer to high-ranking military officers who had grown wealthy from drug trafficking.
January 01, 1990
high
historical
Etymology and early usage of the term within Venezuela.
The Beltrán-Leyva Organization is a Mexican drug cartel.
high
temporal
Beltrán-Leyva Organization is an established transnational criminal organization involved in narcotics trafficking.
La Cosa Nostra (LCN) in the United States evolved from the Sicilian Mafia and is organized as a New York-based network of five families: Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese, and Lucchese.
high
descriptive
Organizational definition and composition of La Cosa Nostra within the U.S.
La Cosa Nostra and similar organized-crime families have historically been associated with illegal gambling operations and sports-related corruption such as match-fixing and rigging.
medium
descriptive
Types of criminal activities historically linked to organized-crime families in the U.S.