The US government announced on Friday (25) sanctions against the so-called Cartel de Los Soles, a Venezuelan criminal group, which, according to the Treasury Department, is led by dictator Nicolás Maduro. The organization was designated as a global terrorist entity.
The measure was made official by the Foreign Asset Control Office (OFAC), responsible for applying sanctions based on American foreign policy. According to the agency, the cartel is “led by Nicolás Maduro and other high -ranking members of the Venezuelan regime.”
Also according to the Treasury, the Los Soles cartel gives “material support” to the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua and the Mexican Cartel of Sinaloa – both also considered terrorist organizations by the Trump government. “The action further exposes the facilitation of Maduro’s illegitimate regime to narcoterrorism through organizations such as the Los Soles cartel,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in an official statement.
In a statement on Sunday (27), Secretary of State Marco Rubio reinforced the American position: “Maduro is the head of the Los Soles cartel, a narcoterrorist organization who took possession of a country,” he said in a publication on social network X.
According to information from Folha de S. Paulothe Trump government had already accused Maduro and allies of leading narcoterrorism actions, even offering a reward for their capture – accusations denied by Maduro. According to the American administration, the goal of the cartel would be to “use the avalanche of illegal drugs as a weapon against the US.”
Since the beginning of his term, Trump has reinforced the fight against international trafficking, aiming especially at southern border groups, which work with illicit drugs, extortion and trafficking in persons.
Relations between Washington and Caracas remain deteriorated. The US never recognized the reelection of Maduro, considered fraudulent by international observers.
This year, the Trump government announced migratory restrictions on Venezuela travelers, part of a package that includes other countries. Already in July, Caracas released ten American prisoners in exchange for the sending of 252 Venezuelan migrants detained in El Salvador, after being deported from the United States.
On Thursday (24), Nicolás Maduro said the US would have authorized the oil company Chevron to resume its operations in the country. Washington, however, has not yet officially confirmed the information.
