Understanding the Cartel de los Soles: A US-Designated Terrorist Organisation

Tue Nov 25 2025 20:36:37 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

The US labels the Cartel de los Soles, allegedly led by Venezuelan officials including Nicolás Maduro, as a terrorist organisation, raising questions about its actual existence and the implications for US-Venezuela relations.

The US has designated the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organisation, claiming it is controlled by Venezuelan officials, including President Nicolás Maduro. This designation comes amidst growing accusations of drug trafficking against the Venezuelan government. The Venezuelan government vehemently rejects these claims as baseless, calling them a fabrication to justify US intervention. The origins and activities of the so-called cartel are under scrutiny, with debates on its actual existence and implications for regional politics.

The United States has designated the Cartel de los Soles (Spanish for Cartel of the Suns) - a group it alleges is headed by Venezuela's president, Nicolás Maduro, and senior figures in his government - as a foreign terrorist organisation.

Labelling an organisation as a terrorist group gives US law enforcement and military agencies broader powers to target and dismantle it.

In recent months, the US has been ramping up pressure on Maduro, saying his government is illegitimate following last year's election, which was widely dismissed as rigged. The designation gives it another way to turn up the heat.

But questions have been raised as to whether Cartel de los Soles actually exists and Venezuela's foreign ministry has categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejected the designation, which it describes as a new and ridiculous lie.

Not surprisingly, Venezuela's interior and justice minister, Diosdado Cabello, has long called it an invention.

Cabello, who is alleged to be one of the high-ranking members of the cartel, has accused US officials of using it as an excuse to target those they do not like.

Gustavo Petro, the left-wing president of Venezuela's neighbour, Colombia, has also denied the cartel's existence, claiming it is a fictional excuse for the far right to destabilize governments opposing them.

However, the US state department insists that the Cartel de los Soles exists and claims it has corrupted Venezuela's military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary.

Experts consulted indicate that the truth may lie somewhere in between, with the term Cartel de los Soles emerging in the early 1990s amidst drug-trafficking allegations against Venezuelan officials.

In this complex scenario, Kukla, a corruption expert, underscores the chaotic landscape of drug trafficking in Venezuela, portraying it as a system rather than a cohesive group.

Most recently, the US administration has increased its rewards for information regarding the capture of Maduro and Cabello, emphasizing the ongoing tension surrounding this issue.