The United States has officially labelled the Cartel de los Soles a foreign terrorist organisation. The Treasury Department posted the notice on Monday, marking another sharp move in the Trump administration’s expanding fight against drug trafficking.
Just a week earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused the group of being “responsible for terrorist violence” across the Western Hemisphere. The new designation comes as President Donald Trump continues to consider military action against Venezuela. He has not ruled it out, even as he keeps the door open for talks with President Nicolás Maduro.
Military Options Remain on the Table
The decision adds to months of aggressive US activity in the region. American forces have built up a strong presence in the Caribbean and launched strikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats. These operations have already killed more than 80 people. Any land-based action would significantly expand this campaign.
What Is the Cartel de los Soles?
The term Cartel de los Soles originated in the 1990s. It referred to senior Venezuelan military officers who grew wealthy through drug trafficking. Over time, corruption spread under Hugo Chávez and later Maduro. The label expanded to include police officers, government officials, and those involved in illegal mining and fuel smuggling. The “suns” refer to the insignia worn by high-ranking military officials.
In 2020, the US Justice Department escalated its claims. It described the organisation as a Maduro-led drug-trafficking network and indicted Maduro and his inner circle on narco-terrorism charges.
A New Level of Terror Designation
Until this year, the US reserved foreign terrorist organisation status for groups like the Islamic State or al-Qaida. The Trump administration changed that policy in February when it applied the label to eight Latin American criminal networks linked to drug smuggling and migrant trafficking.
Officials say these designated groups run the boats targeted in US strikes, though they rarely identify the groups publicly or provide supporting evidence. The expanded operation now stretches from the Venezuelan coast to the eastern Pacific and aims to block narcotics from reaching American cities.
Critics Say There’s a Bigger Political Goal
Critics, including Maduro, argue that the US is using military pressure to end the ruling party’s 26-year hold on power. The presence of American forces in the Caribbean has encouraged the Venezuelan opposition, renewing calls to remove Maduro. This has intensified speculation about whether Washington’s mission is truly about drugs or about regime change.
Trump, like previous US administrations, does not recognise Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela. Maduro is serving a third term after loyalists declared him the winner of a disputed 2024 election. Evidence suggested the opposition candidate won by a wide margin, and Maduro’s government faced accusations of human rights violations during and after the vote.
Maduro’s Government Rejects the US Claim
Earlier on Monday, Maduro’s government denied the existence of the cartel altogether. It called the US accusations a political invention designed to justify interference in Venezuela.
Foreign minister Yvan Gil condemned the move, writing on Telegram that Venezuela “categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejects the new and ridiculous fabrication” by Secretary Rubio. He claimed Washington revived “an infamous and vile lie to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela, under the classic US regime-change format.”
He said previous “aggressions” had failed and insisted that this latest move would meet the same fate.