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Venezuela on Monday rejected a planned move by US President Donald Trump’s administration to list the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organisation, calling the allegation a fabrication and denying the group exists.
Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said on Telegram that Caracas “categorically, firmly and absolutely rejects the new and ridiculous fabrication” by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has said Washington will designate the “non-existent Cartel of the Suns” as a terrorist group.
Gil said the claim revived “an infamous lie” aimed at “justifying an illegitimate and illegal intervention” in Venezuela. President Nicolás Maduro has long denied leading or taking part in any criminal organisation, saying the US is pursuing regime change to gain control of Venezuela’s oil reserves.
The Trump administration is expected to issue the designation later on Monday. Rubio said earlier this month that the group would be listed as a foreign terrorist organisation for its alleged role in moving illegal drugs into the United States.
Also read: US set to label Maduro-tied Cartel de los Soles as a terror organisation. It’s not a cartel per se
According to the Associated Press(AP), US officials allege that Maduro and senior military figures have used the “Cartel de los Soles” network to traffic cocaine in partnership with Colombian armed groups. A 2020 US Justice Department indictment accused Maduro and allies of conspiring “to flood the United States with cocaine,” a charge Maduro denies.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told OAN last week that the new FTO label would give Washington “a whole bunch of new options”. He did not say whether the US military was considering strikes inside Venezuela.
The designation comes as Trump oversees a large US military deployment in the Caribbean, part of what the administration calls a counter-drug operation. US forces have been striking boats accused of trafficking narcotics, actions that AP reports have killed more than 80 people.
A senior US official told AP that intelligence reports suggest growing concern among Maduro and senior officials as the strikes continue. The official said Trump believes Maduro’s hold on power “is not sustainable,” although he has not authorised any direct talks with the Venezuelan leader.
The term Cartel de los Soles the “Cartel of the Suns” first emerged in the 1990s as a reference to Venezuelan military officers allegedly involved in drug trafficking. It is named after the sun insignia worn by generals. Over time, the label has been used more loosely to describe various corrupt networks involving officials in the military, police and government.
Researchers say it is not a traditional cartel. Adam Isaacson of the Washington Office on Latin America told AP: “It is not a group. They don’t have regular meetings. They don’t have a hierarchy.”
InSight Crime said in August it is an “oversimplification” to claim Maduro heads the cartel, calling it instead a system of corruption in which officials profit by working with traffickers.
The US Treasury Department designated the group as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” in July, freezing any US assets and barring Americans from doing business with it.
(With inputs from Reuters and AP)
