The much-publicised Cartel de los Soles, which was allegedly a leading drug trafficking network from Venezuela, does not exist. That was the pretext used by US President Donald Trump to justify a campaign against Venezuela and the abduction of its President, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. Instead, the term Cartel de los Soles is a slang used to define a “patronage system” and “culture of corruption” that is fueled by drug money.&nbsp; In March 2020, the Justice Department's indictment mentioned Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) 32 times. It mentioned that the group provides weapons to a Colombian Marxist rebel group, FARC, which funded its militant activities through drug trafficking and flooding the United States with cocaine.&nbsp; However, in the 2026 DOJ indictment, the term appears only twice, referring to a culture allegedly supported by successive Venezuelan Presidents Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro. The original drug trafficking pretext for Maduro's kidnapping has been largely dismissed by many of the US allies and adversaries. Now the tacit admission by the DOJ of the absence of an actual Cartel de los Soles reveals the true motivation behind the US imperialist campaign.&nbsp; “Let me get this straight: We go to a country, we capture their leader, we bomb it, &amp; then we say we run this country now — and that's not war. But when they send cocaine over here, that people are willingly snorting — that is war. That doesn't make any sense,” said Kat Timf, a political commentator at Fox News.&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">MacCALLUM: You have about 100,000 dying from drug overdoses, most of those drugs from from Venezuela and other places CROW: That&#39;s actually not true. The majority of the deaths by drugs in America are the result of meth and fentanyl. Almost none of that comes from Venezuela <a href="https://t.co/xp3TmcYDyG">pic.twitter.com/xp3TmcYDyG</a>&mdash; Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/2008277428406239534?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 5, 2026</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Experts in Latin American crime and narcotics have long argued that the term was a figure of speech, a slang coined by the Venezuelan media for corrupt officials bearing a sun insignia on their uniforms. Neither the United Nations' annual World Drug Report nor the DEA's annual National Drug Threat Assessment mention Cartel de los Soles.&nbsp; Nevertheless, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared, “We will continue to reserve the right to take strikes against drug boats that are bringing drugs toward the United States that are being operated by transnational criminal organisations, including the Cartel de los Soles.”

The Cartel de los Soles is not a real drug cartel. Experts and US indictments reveal how Trump used the myth to justify action against Venezuela.

The much-publicised Cartel de los Soles, which was allegedly a leading drug trafficking network from Venezuela, does not exist. That was the pretext used by US President Donald Trump to justify a campaign against Venezuela and the abduction of its President, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. Instead, the term Cartel de los Soles is a slang used to define a “patronage system” and “culture of corruption” that is fueled by drug money. In March 2020, the Justice Department's indictment mentioned Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) 32 times. It mentioned that the group provides weapons to a Colombian Marxist rebel group, FARC, which funded its militant activities through drug trafficking and flooding the United States with cocaine. However, in the 2026 DOJ indictment, the term appears only twice, referring to a culture allegedly supported by successive Venezuelan Presidents Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro. The original drug trafficking pretext for Maduro's kidnapping has been largely dismissed by many of the US allies and adversaries. Now the tacit admission by the DOJ of the absence of an actual Cartel de los Soles reveals the true motivation behind the US imperialist campaign. “Let me get this straight: We go to a country, we capture their leader, we bomb it, & then we say we run this country now — and that's not war. But when they send cocaine over here, that people are willingly snorting — that is war. That doesn't make any sense,” said Kat Timf, a political commentator at Fox News.

The Cartel de los Soles is not a real drug cartel. Experts and US indictments reveal how Trump used the myth to justify action against Venezuela.

DOJ silently admits there is no drug trafficking group named Cartel de los Soles

Over a month before the US launched an operation capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, it had designated this cartel as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO).

What is Venezuela’s ‘Cartel de los Soles’, the US-designated terrorist organisation led by Nicolás Maduro?

US President Donald Trump’s administration has officially declared Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), effective Monday (Nov 24), as the US government ramps up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Washington claims that the group, which it says is tied directly to Maduro and other senior officials, works with known outfits like Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel to fuel violence and drug trafficking across the region. But is Cartel de los Soles even a ‘cartel’?In a statement, the US Department of State said, “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. Cartel de los Soles by and with other designated FTOs including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel are responsible for terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe.”<h2>What is Cartel de los Soles?</h2>The entity Cartel de los Soles is not actually a cartel per se. The term is rather used to describe military officers and other officials involved in corruption and other illegal activities in the country.The term Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, started being used in Venezuela in the 1990s to refer to senior military officials who became rich from drug-running. As the corruption spread in the country under late President Hugo Chavez and then under Maduro, the term was associated with police and government officials, and also activities like illegal mining and fuel trafficking. The “suns” in the name refer to the epaulettes attached to the uniforms of high-ranking officers in the military.The term was then used to describe a Maduro-led drug-trafficking organisation in 2020, when the US Justice Department announced the indictment of the Venezuelan president and his inner circle over charges including narcoterrorism.“It is not a group,” said Adam Isaacson, director for defence oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America organisation. “It’s not like a group that people would ever identify themselves as members. They don’t have regular meetings. They don’t have a hierarchy.”Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-to-launch-new-phase-of-venezuela-operation-several-airlines-cancel-flights-after-us-warning-1763886961576">Trump to launch new phase of Venezuela operation? Several airlines cancel flights after US warning</a><h2>US to launch operations in Venezuela?</h2>This comes amid reports that the US is set to launch a new phase of operations related to Venezuela in the coming days as US President Donald Trump’s administration escalates pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government. Earlier, the two leaders said that they were ready to talk with each other “face to face”. However, the US president said that he will not “rule out” the presence of the US military in the archipelago.The Trump administration has accused Maduro of leading a “terrorist” drug cartel – an accusation he denies. Despite the mounting criticism over the mounting civilian toll in the US strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, Washington has maintained that it is defending itself against “narco-terrorists”.US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said last week that the designation of Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organisation will provide a “whole bunch of new options to the United States” for dealing with Maduro, without providing further details.“So nothing is off the table, but nothing’s automatically on the table,” he said.Earlier this month, the US Navy positioned its largest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, in the Caribbean with its strike group. At least seven other warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft have also been stationed.

This comes amid reports that the US is set to launch a new phase of operations related to Venezuela in the coming days as US President Donald Trump’s administration escalates pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

US President Donald Trump’s administration has officially declared Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), effective Monday (Nov 24), as the US government ramps up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Washington claims that the group, which it says is tied directly to Maduro and other senior officials, works with known outfits like Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel to fuel violence and drug trafficking across the region. But is Cartel de los Soles even a ‘cartel’? In a statement, the US Department of State said, “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. Cartel de los Soles by and with other designated FTOs including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel are responsible for terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe.” What is Cartel de los Soles? The entity Cartel de los Soles is not actually a cartel per se. The term is rather used to describe military officers and other officials involved in corruption and other illegal activities in the country. The term Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, started being used in Venezuela in the 1990s to refer to senior military officials who became rich from drug-running. As the corruption spread in the country under late President Hugo Chavez and then under Maduro, the term was associated with police and government officials, and also activities like illegal mining and fuel trafficking. The “suns” in the name refer to the epaulettes attached to the uniforms of high-ranking officers in the military. The term was then used to describe a Maduro-led drug-trafficking organisation in 2020, when the US Justice Department announced the indictment of the Venezuelan president and his inner circle over charges including narcoterrorism. “It is not a group,” said Adam Isaacson, director for defence oversight at the Washington Office on Latin America organisation. “It’s not like a group that people would ever identify themselves as members. They don’t have regular meetings. They don’t have a hierarchy.” Also read | Trump to launch new phase of Venezuela operation? Several airlines cancel flights after US warning US to launch operations in Venezuela? This comes amid reports that the US is set to launch a new phase of operations related to Venezuela in the coming days as US President Donald Trump’s administration escalates pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government. Earlier, the two leaders said that they were ready to talk with each other “face to face”. However, the US president said that he will not “rule out” the presence of the US military in the archipelago. The Trump administration has accused Maduro of leading a “terrorist” drug cartel – an accusation he denies. Despite the mounting criticism over the mounting civilian toll in the US strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, Washington has maintained that it is defending itself against “narco-terrorists”. US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said last week that the designation of Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organisation will provide a “whole bunch of new options to the United States” for dealing with Maduro, without providing further details. “So nothing is off the table, but nothing’s automatically on the table,” he said. Earlier this month, the US Navy positioned its largest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, in the Caribbean with its strike group. At least seven other warships, a nuclear submarine and F-35 aircraft have also been stationed.

This comes amid reports that the US is set to launch a new phase of operations related to Venezuela in the coming days as US President Donald Trump’s administration escalates pressure on President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

US formally lists Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles as ‘foreign terrorist organisation’ – Is it even a ‘cartel’?

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DOJ silently admits there is no drug trafficking group named Cartel de los Soles

What is Venezuela’s ‘Cartel de los Soles’, headed by Nicolás Maduro?

Is Cartel de los Soles even a ‘cartel’? US lists it as foreign terrorist org