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Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Sunday that the Cartel de los Soles, a powerful criminal network tied to Venezuela’s top leadership, will be labeled as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
The move appears to be an escalation in Washington’s stance toward the Venezuelan government and could lead to military action against the Maduro regime.
In a statement, Rubio confirmed the U.S. will formally designate the cartel as an FTO later this month.
The designation, which is to take effect Nov. 24, targets the criminal network allegedly led by Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and senior members of his regime.
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Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s president, during a press conference at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
According to the State Department, “Based in Venezuela, the Cartel de los Soles is headed by Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking individuals of the illegitimate Maduro regime who have corrupted Venezuela’s military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary.”
“Neither Maduro nor his cronies represent Venezuela’s legitimate government,” the statement read.
“The Cartel de los Soles, in coordination with other terrorist organizations including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, is responsible for terrorist violence across our hemisphere and for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe.”
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Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro leads the celebration of the 22nd anniversary of late President Hugo Chavez’s return to power after a failed coup attempt in 2002, in Caracas, Venezuela April 13, 2024. (Reuters/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Photo)
The announced action is being taken under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which authorizes the State Department to designate foreign entities engaged in terrorist activity.
The designation will become official once it’s published in the Federal Register.
The Cartel de los Soles had previously been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorism.
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In an accompanying post on X, Rubio said:
.@StateDept intends to designate Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Headed by the illegitimate Nicolás Maduro, the group has corrupted the institutions of government in Venezuela and is responsible for terrorist violence conducted by and with other designated FTOs as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe.
The statement came as President Trump reiterated that the U.S. was intent on stopping drug dealers and drugs filtering into the country.
“We’re stopping drug dealers and drugs from coming into our country,” Trump told reporters Sunday night.
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The Trump administration ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford to head to U.S. Southern Command, prompting Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro to accuse Trump of “fabricating a new eternal war.” (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images; Getty Images)
“And I actually told Marco and some of the people our secretary of state is doing a great job, by the way. I said, ‘Go to Congress and let them know we’re not letting drugs come through Mexico. We’re not letting them come through Venezuela,'” he added.
Trump’s comments came just after he said that the government may be having discussions with Venezuela as well as confirming whether the new cartel designation would mean the U.S. government could now target Maduro’s assets or infrastructure.
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“It allows us to do that,” Trump confirmed while mentioning talks with the Venezuelan leader.
“We may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out. They would like to talk,’ he said before adding, “We’ll see what happens.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of State for comment.
