US Sanctions Maduro-Linked Venezuelan ‘Cartel Of The Suns’ As Terrorist Entity

The Treasury Department on Friday designated Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles – known in English as the Cartel of the Suns – as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity, accusing President Nicolas Maduro and senior members of his regime of leading the group and supporting major drug cartels whose activities threaten U.S. national security.

The designation, issued by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on July 25 under counterterrorism authorities, blocks all property and interests of the group within U.S. jurisdiction, and generally prohibits Americans from engaging in transactions with it.

“Today’s action further exposes the illegitimate Maduro regime’s facilitation of narco-terrorism through terrorist groups like Cartel de los Soles,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

“The Treasury Department will continue to execute on President [Donald] Trump’s pledge to put America First by cracking down on violent organizations, including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, and their facilitators, like Cartel de los Soles.”

Tom Ozimek reports for The Epoch Times that Treasury officials said the cartel operates from Venezuela and is headed by Maduro, along with other senior figures in the regime. The group allegedly infiltrated key state institutions—military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary—to facilitate large‑scale narcotics trafficking into the United States. Its name derives from the sun insignias worn by Venezuelan military officers.

Washington accuses the cartel of providing material support to two groups already on U.S. terrorist lists: Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.

The latter is a Venezuelan gang that Trump has accused of engaging in an invasion of, and “irregular warfare” against, the United States, using illicit narcotics and mass illegal immigration as weapons.

The State Department designated both Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa cartel as SDGTs and Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) earlier this year, alongside several other Mexican cartels and the MS‑13 gang.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Embassy of Venezuela in Europe—as its U.S. embassy and consulates are closed—with a request for comment on the sanctions.

Previously, the Venezuelan government has dismissed U.S. sanctions as illegitimate and part of what it calls an “economic war” aimed at destabilizing the country.

The sanctions are the latest move in Washington’s campaign to isolate Maduro, whom the United States has accused of narco‑terrorism since Trump’s first term.

In 2020, U.S. prosecutors indicted Maduro and several top aides on drug‑trafficking charges and later offered multimillion‑dollar rewards for their capture. In January, the State Department raised the bounty for information leading to Maduro’s arrest to $25 million, while adding a $15 million reward for Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López.

Alongside that reward increase, OFAC sanctioned eight Venezuelan officials accused of enabling repression and subverting democracy.

“Since last year’s election, Maduro and his associates have continued their repressive actions in Venezuela,” acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith said in a statement.

“The United States, together with our like‑minded partners, stands in solidarity with the Venezuelan people’s vote for new leadership and rejects Maduro’s fraudulent claim of victory.”

The United States and much of the international community have rejected Maduro’s 2019 reelection on the grounds that it was fraudulent. More recently, U.S. officials have accused his government of using narcotics flows as a “weapon” against the United States, and of cracking down violently on opposition after Venezuela’s disputed July 2024 presidential elections.

Amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation of illegal immigrants, Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned in March that Venezuela could face new, escalating sanctions if it refuses to accept U.S. deportation flights carrying Venezuelan nationals, including alleged Tren de Aragua members.

The Trump administration has also tightened immigration restrictions on Venezuelans. In June, Trump suspended entry into the United States for most Venezuelan travelers holding tourist, business, student, and cultural exchange visas, citing the lack of reliable vetting and the country’s refusal to accept deported citizens.