US designates Maduro-tied Cartel de los Soles as foreign terrorist organisation

The United States has formally designated Cartel de los Soles a foreign terrorist organisation, according to a notice posted on the US Treasury Department website on Monday.

The designation marks the latest step in the Trump administration’s escalating campaign against drug trafficking into the United States.

About a week earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the Cartel de los Soles — or Cartel of the Suns — of being “responsible for terrorist violence” in the Western Hemisphere.

The decision comes as Trump weighs possible military action against Venezuela, a step he has not ruled out even while raising the prospect of talks with President Nicolás Maduro.

More from World

US prepares new phase of pressure on Venezuela, sources say imminent action looming Despite Trump tariffs, robust domestic economy gives India leverage over US in trade talks: Report

Any land strikes or expanded operations would significantly widen the months-long campaign, which has included a major US military buildup in the Caribbean and strikes on boats accused of drug trafficking that have killed more than 80 people.

The term Cartel de los Soles emerged in the 1990s to describe senior Venezuelan military officers enriched through drug trafficking. As corruption spread under the late Hugo Chávez and later Maduro, the label broadened to include police, government officials, and activities such as illegal mining and fuel smuggling. The “suns” refer to the insignia worn by top military officers.

In 2020, the US Justice Department elevated the label to a Maduro-led drug-trafficking organisation when it indicted the Venezuelan leader and his inner circle on narco-terrorism and related charges.

Quick Reads

View All

Watch: Ethiopian volcano erupts for the first time in 12,000 years

Takaichi unlikely to back down on Taiwan despite China's outrage: A look at Japan will tell us why

Until this year, the foreign terrorist organization designation was reserved for groups such as the Islamic State or al-Qaida. The Trump administration applied it in February to eight Latin American criminal networks involved in drug trafficking and migrant smuggling.

The administration says these designated groups operate the boats targeted in U.S. strikes, though it rarely identifies the organizations and has provided no evidence. Officials say the expanded operation — now stretching from the Venezuelan coast into the eastern Pacific — is aimed at stopping narcotics from reaching American cities.

Critics, including Maduro, argue the military actions are intended to end the ruling party’s 26-year grip on power. The arrival of US forces in the Caribbean has reignited the US-backed Venezuelan opposition’s calls to remove Maduro, adding to speculation about the motive behind what Washington calls a counterdrug mission.

Trump, like his predecessor, does not recognise Maduro as Venezuela’s president. Maduro is in his third term after loyalists declared him the winner of last year’s disputed election, despite evidence the opposition candidate won by a wide margin. His government has been repeatedly accused of human rights abuses, including after the July 2024 vote.

‘Ridiculous fabrication’

Earlier on Monday, Maduro’s government denied the existence of the cartel, calling the US accusation a “ridiculous fabrication” meant to “justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela.”

“Venezuela categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejects the new and ridiculous fabrication by the Secretary of the US Department of State Marco Rubio, which designates the non-existent Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organisation,” Venezuelan foreign minister Yvan Gil posted on Telegram.

He said the move revives “an infamous and vile lie to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela, under the classic US regime-change format,” adding that previous “aggressions” had failed and that the new manoeuvre would meet the same fate.

With inputs from agencies