US adds Venezuelan ‘cartel’ to terror list as military threat rises

The United States has designated what Venezuelans call the “Cartel de los Soles”, or “Cartel of the Suns”, a “foreign terrorist organization”.

President Donald Trump’s administration added the “cartel”, which it asserts is linked to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, to the list on Monday, according to a notice published in the Federal Register.

However, the entity is not actually a cartel but rather a common reference in Venezuela to military officers and officials involved in corruption and other illegal activities.

In a statement responding to the move, Venezuela’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the action was a “ridiculous lie” used to justify future military intervention.

“Venezuela categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejects the new and ridiculous lie from the Secretary of the Department of State, Marco Rubio, who designates the alleged Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization … to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela,” it said.     

Washington’s designation, which comes during a US military build-up in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela, could offer legal cover to potential direct military action.

Trump is reportedly mulling the next step in his campaign against the South American country. A strike on Venezuelan territory would constitute a major escalation of the months-long US operation in the region, which has seen more than 80 people killed in strikes on boats that the Trump administration alleged were trafficking drugs.

United Nations officials and scholars of international law have said the strikes are in clear violation of US and international law and amount to extrajudicial executions.

Washington is poised to launch a new phase of operations in the coming days, unnamed US officials told the Reuters news agency.

The report said the exact timing and scope of the new operations and whether Trump had made a final decision to act was unclear.

A senior administration official said US officials would not rule anything out regarding Venezuela.

Two of the officials said covert operations would likely be the first part of new action against Maduro and options under consideration include an attempt to overthrow the longstanding Venezuelan leader.

‘Cartel de los Soles’

Venezuelans began using the term Cartel de los Soles in the 1990s to refer to high-ranking military officers who had grown rich from drug-running.

As corruption later expanded nationwide, first under the late President Hugo Chavez and then Maduro, the use of the term loosely expanded to include police and government officials as well as activities like illegal mining and fuel trafficking.

The “suns” in the name refer to the epaulettes affixed to the uniforms of high-ranking military officers.

The umbrella term was elevated to a reported drug-trafficking organisation allegedly led by Maduro in 2020 when the US Department of Justice during Trump’s first term announced the indictment of Venezuela’s leader and his inner circle on “narcoterrorism” and other charges.

Maduro, in power since 2013, contends that Trump wants to topple him and Venezuelan citizens and the military will resist any such attempt.

However, the US campaign and the fears of potential military action continue to raise the pressure on Caracas.

Six airlines cancelled their routes to Venezuela on Saturday after the US aviation regulator warned of dangers from “heightened military activity”.

Spain’s Iberia, Portugal’s TAP, Chile’s LATAM, Colombia’s Avianca and Brazil’s GOL suspended their flights to the country, said Marisela de Loaiza, president of the Venezuelan Airlines Association.

Turkish Airlines said on Sunday that it was also cancelling flights from Monday through Friday.