US Labels Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles a Terrorist Group: Reality, Controversy, and Consequences

What Is the Cartel de los Soles? Origins and Allegations

On Monday, the United States government took a bold step: it officially designated the Cartel de los Soles—a network it claims is headed by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and senior government figures—as a foreign terrorist organization. This move, announced amid escalating tensions, grants US law enforcement and military agencies sweeping new powers to target and disrupt the group, and comes as part of Washington’s intensified campaign against drug trafficking from Latin America.

The term ‘Cartel de los Soles’ (Spanish for ‘Cartel of the Suns’) isn’t new. It surfaced in the early 1990s, coined by Venezuelan media after allegations of drug trafficking against National Guard generals, whose sun-shaped epaulettes inspired the name. Over time, the label expanded to include high-ranking Venezuelan military officers and, eventually, a sprawling network of police and government officials accused of facilitating illicit activities—from drug running to illegal mining and fuel smuggling.

According to BBC, experts trace the group’s roots to the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Colombia’s powerful Medellín Cartel was being dismantled. As Colombian smuggling routes fell under pressure, Venezuelan officials allegedly stepped in, offering alternative channels for cocaine trafficking. The early years of Hugo Chávez’s presidency—marked by his antagonism toward the US and severed military cooperation—are said to have enabled some officers to partner with criminal elements, especially as Venezuela became a safe haven for Colombia’s FARC rebels.

Structure or System? The Elusive Nature of the Cartel

Unlike traditional drug cartels such as Mexico’s Sinaloa or Jalisco New Generation, the Cartel de los Soles defies easy definition. It is not, most analysts agree, a single, tightly organized group. “It’s not a group that people would ever identify themselves as members. They don’t have regular meetings. They don’t have a hierarchy,” Adam Isaacson of the Washington Office on Latin America told CBS News.

Insight Crime, a research organization specializing in organized crime, describes the cartel’s structure as “a diffuse network of cells embedded within Venezuela’s main military branches: the army, navy, air force, and national guard, from the lowest to the highest ranks.” Over time, the concept has expanded beyond the military, implicating police forces, public officials, and even parts of the executive branch.

For many experts, the ‘cartel’ is more accurately described as a system of widespread corruption, rather than a unified criminal organization. Economic crisis, endemic corruption, and political instability have created conditions in which mid- and lower-ranking officers—especially those controlling entry and exit points like airports—are incentivized to facilitate and profit from drug trafficking.

US Charges, Former Insiders, and Conflicting Accounts

The US government remains adamant that the Cartel de los Soles is real—and that its tentacles reach the highest echelons of the Maduro regime. In 2020, the US Justice Department indicted Maduro and 14 associates on charges of conspiring with Colombian armed groups to ship cocaine to the United States. Among those named were Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino and former Supreme Court head Maikel Moreno.

Prosecutors allege that, since at least 1999, the cartel was led by Maduro, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, former military intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal, and ex-General Clíver Alcalá. The US claims testimony from defected Venezuelan officials supports these allegations. Notably, Leamsy Salazar, former security chief for Hugo Chávez, told US authorities that Cabello led the cartel, while both Alcalá and Carvajal have pleaded guilty in US courts to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges.

Yet, inside Venezuela and among its allies, the narrative is fiercely contested. The government has “categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejected” the terrorist designation, calling it a “ridiculous fabrication” and a “vile lie to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention.” Maduro’s administration insists the cartel is “non-existent,” and Cabello himself has dismissed it as an “invention” wielded by the US to target political adversaries. Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro has echoed these doubts, branding the cartel as a “fictional excuse of the far right to bring down governments that do not obey them.”

Military Escalation, Sanctions, and Political Fallout

The US designation is more than symbolic; it is part of a broader pressure campaign. In recent months, US warships and over 10,000 troops have ramped up exercises in the Caribbean, and at least 21 strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats have been conducted—most targeting vessels linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, which US officials say is connected to Maduro’s regime.

The Trump administration has also imposed economic sanctions, highlighting what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calls “the illegitimate Maduro regime’s facilitation of narco-terrorism through terrorist groups like Cartel de los Soles.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio claims the group is responsible for “terrorist violence” and for trafficking drugs into the US and Europe.

But these moves have sparked debate in Washington over legality, effectiveness, and the real motivations behind the military build-up. Critics, including Maduro and others, see the campaign as an attempt to precipitate regime change—if not the prelude to overt intervention. US-backed Venezuelan opposition figures have grown more vocal, fueling speculation about the endgame.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has said the designation gives the US “a whole bunch of new options” to address Maduro’s alleged crimes, though he declined to specify what those options might entail. President Trump, interviewed by CBS News, hinted that the US operations are “about many things,” and suggested Maduro’s days in office are likely numbered.

Is the Cartel de los Soles Fact or Political Fiction?

Despite the dramatic headlines, the fundamental question remains: does the Cartel de los Soles exist as the US describes it? Most independent analysts say the reality is complex. There is clear evidence of corruption and drug trafficking within elements of Venezuela’s military and government. There are credible allegations and confessions by former insiders. But the lack of a formal hierarchy, structure, or self-identification distinguishes this network from traditional cartels.

The term itself has become a catch-all, used to describe a system in which criminality and politics intersect, rather than a single entity with clear boundaries. As Insight Crime notes, “Its structure consists of a diffuse network of cells… primarily associated with the military sector, but other branches of the State embedded within the criminal ecosystem have also been identified.”

The US, for its part, continues to treat the cartel as a strategic threat, using the terrorist designation to justify expanded military and legal measures. Venezuela’s government, meanwhile, denounces the allegations as fabricated pretexts for intervention.

The US designation of the Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization marks a watershed in the long-standing conflict between Washington and Caracas. While there is credible evidence of corruption and criminality among Venezuela’s security forces, the term ‘cartel’ masks a more diffuse, systemic problem—one where the lines between crime, politics, and international strategy blur. The move will likely deepen polarization, raising the stakes for Venezuela’s future and the wider region.