US wants Venezuela's 'Cartel of the Suns' on the terror list
The World
PRX
4.6 • 943 Ratings
🗓️ 19 November 2025
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Trump administration is moving to label Venezuela’s “Cartel of the Suns” as a foreign terrorist organization, but some experts say the label doesn’t fit. Also, a new study examines the extent of damage being done by excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods. And, an update on conditions on the ground for Palestinians in Gaza. Plus, rapper Eminem sues a beach accessory brand for choosing a name too close to his own alter ego, Slim Shady.
Listen to today’s Music Heard on Air.
Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choicesTranscript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | The Trump administration says Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, runs a criminal gang called the Cartel of the Sons. |
| 0:12.0 | One Latin America expert tells us that's not really true. |
| 0:15.3 | Maduro is not the head of the Cartel of the Sons because the Cartel of the Sons doesn't exist. |
| 0:20.2 | Maduro is the head of a system |
| 0:22.3 | of hybrid criminal governance. I'm Marco Wurman. And I'm Carolyn Beeler. Ten years after the Paris |
| 0:28.9 | climate agreement, we will hear about lessons learned. I realize you do have to work with people |
| 0:36.1 | who might have opposing views from you. |
| 0:39.3 | Also, what daily life is like for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. |
| 0:43.2 | Almost everybody is living in a tent. |
| 0:45.6 | Life is extremely precarious right now. |
| 0:47.9 | And what to do about the global appetite for ultra-processed junk foods? |
| 0:52.8 | All that and more today on The World. |
| 0:56.9 | This is The World. I'm Carolyn Beeler. |
| 0:59.9 | And I'm Marco Wurman. We are glad you could be with us today. |
| 1:02.8 | President Trump has ordered a massive buildup of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela. |
| 1:08.9 | It includes the largest aircraft carrier in the world, many other warships, and about 15,000 American service members. The White House says all of this is to combat drug trafficking. Now the administration is moving to designate Venezuela's cartel of the Sons as a foreign terrorist organization. U.S. officials say the group represents a dangerous nexus |
| 1:29.1 | between the Venezuelan military, the country's political elite, and cocaine traffickers. The thing is, |
| 1:35.4 | the cartel of the Sons is not actually a cartel. We start today with the world's Chibisa Isaiah, |
| 1:40.8 | taking a closer look at this hard to define entity. |
| 1:50.9 | The Cartel of the Sons is one of those names that could easily headline a salacious crime series. |
| 1:58.5 | But the term actually grew out of real investigations into corruption inside Venezuela's armed forces. It's to talk about the Cartel of the Soles at the beginning of 1990. When it's Rona Riskes, a Venezuelan investigated journalist who has followed the group for years. She says the term goes back to the early 1990s, when reporters uncovered drug trafficking by high-ranking officers. |
| 2:24.3 | Those generals wore soles or sun-shaped stars on their uniforms. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from PRX, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of PRX and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.