Is the U.S. Targeting a 'Cartel' That May Not Exist?
As the Trump administration steps up pressure on Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, former officials and subject-matter experts have warned that a proposed designation of the so-called Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) may be legally and factually problematic.
Critics say the term describes a loose, decentralized set of military-linked actors allegedly involved in drug trafficking, rather than a single, hierarchical cartel like those in Colombia or Mexico. While evidence points to significant government involvement in narcotics routes, several analysts and ex-officials argue that portraying Maduro as the head of a cohesive criminal organization is a leap.
What is the 'Cartel de los Soles'?
The label — Spanish for “cartel of the suns” — originated in the 1990s after investigations into Venezuelan generals who wore sun insignias on their epaulettes. Over time the phrase came to describe a fragmented network of cells embedded within different branches of the Venezuelan military, according to research from InsightCrime and other analysts.
“They’re designating a non-thing that is not a terror organization as a terrorist organization,” said Brian Finucane, a former State Department lawyer who specializes in war powers.
Jeremy McDermott, co-founder of InsightCrime, told CNN the phenomenon is best understood as “a series of normally disconnected cells embedded within the Venezuelan military,” not as a vertically organized trafficking cartel. Phil Gunson of the International Crisis Group similarly described the phrase as a journalistic shorthand for the involvement of Venezuelan officials in drug trafficking.
Why the designation is controversial
The State Department has linked shipments to the United States and Europe to Cartel de los Soles, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua criminal group, and Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. But some former U.S. officials and legal experts contend the intelligence supporting an FTO label is thin or politically driven and may not withstand broader scrutiny.
Finucane and other critics warn the move could be used to expand the policy toolkit against Caracas — potentially repurposing counterterrorism authorities in ways that could justify more aggressive actions. President Trump has suggested that an FTO designation might permit U.S. forces to target Maduro’s assets and infrastructure inside Venezuela; the administration has previously cited similar designations before authorizing limited use of force, such as reported strikes on small vessels allegedly connected to criminal gangs.
Legal and policy questions
Formally, an FTO designation primarily enables financial sanctions and makes it illegal for U.S. persons to provide material support to the named group. Critics note that many past designations targeted profit-motivated criminal groups rather than ideologically driven organizations — a distinction that raises legal and ethical questions about applying counterterrorism tools to trafficking networks.
Observers also caution that labeling a loosely connected set of actors as an FTO risks blurring the line between law enforcement and military action, and could be framed by supporters as a step toward regime-change objectives. Officials in Caracas deny the existence of a formal cartel and reject the accusations as political rhetoric.
Where things stand
CNN has reached out to the State Department, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Drug Enforcement Administration for comment. Venezuela’s government continues to deny that a unified organization called Cartel de los Soles exists.
The debate centers on whether the evidence supports treating a decentralized set of military-linked traffickers as a single terrorist organization — and on whether that designation would expand U.S. options, legally and politically, toward Venezuela.
