Rubio announces Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles terrorist designation
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The Cartel de los Soles, a powerful criminal network tied to Venezuela’s top leaders, will be labeled a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Sunday.
The move appears to be an escalation in Washington’s stance against the Venezuelan government and could lead to military action against the Maduro regime.
In his statement, Rubio confirmed that the United States would officially designate the cartel as an FTO at the end of this month.
The designation, which takes effect on November 24, targets the criminal network allegedly led by Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and senior members of his regime.
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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro at 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, “Cartel de los Soles, headquartered in Venezuela, is headed by Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking figures of the illegitimate Maduro regime that has corrupted Venezuela’s military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary.”
“Neither Maduro nor his supporters represent the legitimate government of Venezuela,” the statement said.
“The Cartel de los Soles, in coordination with other terrorist organizations including the Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, is responsible for terrorist violence in our hemisphere and drug trafficking to the United States and Europe.”
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Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro celebrates the 22nd anniversary of the late President Hugo Chavez’s return to power after the failed coup attempt in 2002 in Caracas, Venezuela, on 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 gives the Department of State the authority to designate foreign entities engaging in terrorist activities.
The definition will become official once it is published in the Federal Register.
Cartel de los Soles was previously sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department under Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and those who support terrorism.
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In a post accompanying X, Rubio said:
.@StateDept plans to designate Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Led by the illegitimate Nicolás Maduro, the group has corrupted government institutions in Venezuela and is responsible for terrorist violence carried out by and with other designated FTOs, as well as drug trafficking to the United States and Europe.
The statement came after President Trump reiterated that the United States intends to stop drug dealers and the filtering of drugs into the country.
“We’re stopping drug dealers and drugs from coming into our country,” Trump told reporters Sunday night.
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“By the way, I told Marco and some people that the Secretary of State was doing a great job. I said, ‘Go to Congress and let them know that we don’t allow drugs to come through Mexico. We don’t allow them to come through Venezuela,'” he added.
Trump’s comments came just after the government said it could hold talks with Venezuela and confirmed 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, discussing his talks with the Venezuelan leader.
“We may be having some talks with Maduro and we’ll see how that plays out. They want to talk,” he said, adding, “We’ll see what happens.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department for comment.
