Venezuela is pushing back hard against a US plan to label the so-called Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization, dismissing the move as a "ridiculous fabrication" ahead of a formal announcement expected Monday. The Trump administration alleges the group is run by high-ranking Venezuelan officials, with President Nicolás Maduro at the helm, a claim Maduro roundly rejects. The Venezuelan government describes the organization as "nonexistent," saying the US is simply trying to justify regime change and gain control of the country's oil reserves, per Reuters.
Experts tell the Los Angeles Times that Cartel de los Soles is not a group, but rather "an umbrella term for corrupt Venezuelan military and government officials." InSight Crime, a group that studies organized crime, previously concluded the term applies to a "system of corruption wherein military and political officials profit by working with drug traffickers," adding it's an "oversimplification" to say Maduro is the leader. The US Treasury already designated the alleged cartel—whose name references the sun insignia worn by Venezuelan generals—as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" in July, freezing any US assets and barring Americans from dealing with it.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the new designation would bring "a whole bunch of new options" for dealing with narco-terrorists in the region. "Nothing is off the table," he said. This comes as the US is reportedly preparing a new phase of Venezuela-related operations, though it's unclear what those might involve. Some analysts have warned that calling the group a foreign terrorist organization could be used as a pretext for military action, but experts note the current statute doesn't actually permit that. "This new maneuver will meet the same fate as previous and recurring aggressions against our country: failure," said Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil.
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