“Nicolás Maduro has been, for more than a decade, leader of the Los Soles Cartel, responsible for drug trafficking to the United States,” said Marco Rubio.
Miami, United States. – The United States government raised the pressure against the Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro on Thursday By increasing the reward to up to 50 million dollars for information that leads to your arrest or condemnation, after accusing it of being “leader of the Los Soles Cartel” and directly linking it with terrorist and drug trafficking activities.
“Nicolás Maduro has been, for more than a decade, leader of the Los Soles Cartel, responsible for drug trafficking to the United States,” said Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, in An official statement of the State Department. According to the text, the group was appointed on July 25 as “specially designated global terrorist” (SDGT) by the Treasury Department, which allows us to use more aggressive legal and financial measures against its members and allies.
The announcement, framed in the Narcotics Rewards Program (NRP), also relies on the United States refusal to recognize Maduro’s alleged re -election in the elections of July 28, 2024. “Maduro said he won (…) but did not present any evidence of his triumph,” the statement said. “The United States has refused to recognize it as president of Venezuela.”
The reward – one of the highest offered within the framework of the program – is part of the priorities of the president’s “America first” policy Donald Trumpand seeks to strengthen the efforts of security agencies to dismantle transnational criminal networks.
Rubio: “Maduro’s regime is a criminal company”
A few hours before the official announcement, Marco Rubio addressed the issue during An interview with Raymond Arroyoof the Ewtn Catholic channel. There, the official explained that the Trump administration has begun to treat certain Latin American cartels as terrorist organizations, and placed the Venezuelan regime in the center of that criminal network.
“Maduro’s regime in Venezuela is not a legitimate government; it is a criminal company,” said Rubio. “[Los cárteles] They extend from the Maduro regime to those operating in Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala … even to gangs known as ADD that function as well -organized criminal organizations. ”
The Secretary of State explained that since February his department has appointed six Latin American cartels as terrorist organizations, which has expanded the legal capacities of the US government to act against them. “We cannot continue treating these people as local gangs,” said Rubio. “They have armament that in some cases resembles that of armies. They control territory. It is a issue of national security, not simply application of the law.”
Drug trafficking, terrorism and human trafficking
According to Rubio, these organizations not only traffic drugs, but are also involved in traffic of people and other forms of transnational crime. “They smuggle anything. And there has been incipient cooperation between them and some international terrorist organizations, which represents a continuous danger to the United States.”
Although he acknowledged that it is still not clear if these designations have modified the behavior of the cartels, he warned that “their behavior will have to change in one way or another.”
The designation as terrorist organizations allows the US government to use intelligence tools, forces of the Department of Defense and other agencies to combat these groups. “We have to start treating them as armed terrorist organizations, not simply as drug trafficking networks,” the official insisted.
Open channels to provide information
The State Department recalled that anyone who has information about Maduro can communicate with the DEA by phone, WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram or email. They can also go to any US embassy or consulate abroad, or the DEA offices within the country. “All identities remain strictly confidential,” the statement said. They are not eligible for the reward officials or employees of any government.
The measure is a hardening of American policy towards Venezuela and Latin America in general, by directly linking state chiefs with transnational terrorist structures. In Rubio’s words: “It is no longer simply a drug issue. It is terrorism what they are doing, and it is not the only thing.”
