Colombian President Petro Denies Existence of ‘Cartel de los Soles’ Despite Senate’s Official Declaration

In a striking controversy that underscores deeper political divisions in Latin America, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro dismissed the existence of the so-called ‘Cartel de los Soles’ within his country’s narcotrafficking investigations. This declaration comes just after the Colombian Senate formally declared this cartel a transnational criminal organization linked directly to Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro's regime.Why Does Petro Reject Clear Connections Between Venezuela and Regional Drug Crime?Petro claims judicial probes have not uncovered evidence implicating the Cartel de los Soles in Colombia's drug trade, instead suggesting cocaine flows from central Colombia through Venezuela's Apure state—not from an organized cartel within Maduro’s...