(Reuters) – Venezuela’s government on Monday rejected what it called a “ridiculous” U.S. plan to designate the “nonexistent” de los Soles Cartel as a terrorist organization, ahead of Washington’s expected designation later in the day.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this month that his country will designate the Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) for its alleged role in importing illegal drugs into the United States.
The Trump administration, which claims the cartel is made up of high-ranking officials, has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of running the group, which he denies. The move comes as Maduro faces escalating pressure from US President Donald Trump through a massive US military build-up in the Caribbean. It also raised some concerns that the United States could seek to use the group’s designation to justify military action, although sanctions experts said the statute does not authorize such a move.
Maduro and his government have always denied any involvement in crime and accused the United States of seeking regime change out of a desire to control Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
“Venezuela categorically, firmly and absolutely rejects the new and ridiculous fabrication by the Secretary of the United States Department of State, Marco Rubio, that designates the non-existent Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization,” said Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil on his Telegram account.
The measure revives “an infamous and vile lie to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela, under the classic format of regime change in the United States. This new maneuver will meet the same fate as previous and recurring aggressions against our country: failure”, she added.
Reuters reported on Saturday that the United States is ready to launch a new phase of operations related to Venezuela in the coming days, although the news organization was not able to establish the exact time or scope of the new operations, nor if Trump has made a final decision to act.
The U.S. Treasury Department in July designated Cartel de los Soles, a reference to the sun insignia worn by Venezuelan gangs, as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist,” a move that froze any of its U.S. assets and generally barred Americans from dealing with it.
InSight Crime, a foundation that analyzes organized crime, said in August that it was an “oversimplification” to say that Maduro runs the cartel, saying that “it is more accurately described as a system of corruption where military and political officials profit by working with drug traffickers.”
(Reporting by Reuters)