The designation, already in force in the Federal Register, links the Venezuelan president and senior officials of his Government with a criminal structure considered a threat to US security.
MADRID, Spain.- The United States Department of State formalized the designation of the Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), a decision that marks a new point of tension in Washington’s policy towards the Venezuelan state apparatus. The measure, announced on November 16 by the State Department, became official this Monday, November 24 with the publication of determination in the Federal Register. With this decision, the United States officially considers that the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and several senior officials of his Government are part of an international terrorist organization, by attributing links to the designated structure.
According to the document, signed by the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, after consulting the Treasury Department and the attorney general, the designation is adopted after confirming that the group meets the criteria established in section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which requires that a foreign organization participate in terrorist activities and represent a threat to the security of the United States. With this inclusion, the Cartel of the Suns joins a list that already includes armed organizations and criminal networks considered dangerous to US national security.
The measure takes effect immediately and opens the door to a set of wide-ranging legal and financial actions. Under US law, any US citizen or entity is prohibited from providing material support to the organization. In addition, the assets of the group and related individuals that are under US jurisdiction are subject to freezing. International cooperation and the prosecution of individuals or networks that contribute to their activities are also facilitated.
Although the designation does not automatically authorize military operations nor does it imply an immediate change in US foreign policy towards Venezuela, it does reinforce the legal framework that allows for the application of coordinated sanctions, strengthening alliances with other countries and expanding actions against state or parastatal actors involved in transnational criminal activities.
The decision comes in a regional context marked by the increase in drug trafficking towards Caribbean routes and by growing international scrutiny on the links between state structures and illegal economies. The inclusion of the Cartel of the Suns as a foreign terrorist organization represents, at the same time, a diplomatic escalation and a wide-ranging political message in the relationship between Washington and Caracas.
Poster of the Suns
Although its existence and structure have been the subject of debate for years, multiple independent investigations and US agencies describe the so-called Cartel of the Suns as a criminal network made up of high-ranking military commanders and Venezuelan officials.
For two decades, this structure has been responsible for drug trafficking operations, smuggling and other illicit activities that would have facilitated the shipment of cocaine to the United States, the Caribbean and West Africa. It does not act as a traditional cartel with a single leadership, but rather as a fragmented network that operates through regional cells and alliances.
Its origins are related to officers who controlled border routes and military checkpoints, from which they would have coordinated drug shipments with irregular groups, including factions of the Colombian guerrilla. Beyond drug trafficking, this network is also interpreted as a mechanism of internal power: access to illicit economies would reinforce the loyalty of military sectors in the midst of the Venezuelan economic collapse. The Government of Caracas denies its existence, while international investigations point to a criminal operation tolerated within the State.
