When the United States carried out strikes in Venezuela two months ago Saturday, the U.S. State Department designated the Cartel de los Soles, a group it says is led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro along with senior members of his government, as a foreign terrorist organization, allegedly responsible for terrorist violence across the hemisphere and smuggling drugs into the U.S. and Europe.
He also mentioned designated FTOs such as Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, adding: “The United States will continue to use all available tools to protect our national security interests and deny funding and resources to narco-terrorists.
The term Cartel de los Soles is said to have first appeared in the early 1990s. It was introduced by Venezuelan media following drug-trafficking allegations against a general overseeing anti-drug operations in the country’s national guard, and refers to the sun-shaped insignia worn on generals’ epaulettes to mark their rank, the BBC report noted.
Trump claimed today that Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country after the explosions in Caracas.
After first offering a reward of up to $15 million in 2020 for information leading to Maduro’s arrest or conviction, the US State Department on January 10, 2025 increased the reward to up to $25 million. The reward was increased again on August 7, 2025, up to $50 million.
Why did the court accuse Nicolas Maduro of narco-terrorism?
In March 2020, a US federal court indicted Venezuelan leader Maduro on drug-trafficking, narco-terrorism and firearms charges, alleging that he and 14 current or former Venezuelan officials flooded the United States with cocaine, according to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP).
According to Attorney General William Barr, Maduro’s government helped former members of the dissident faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) by allowing Venezuela to serve as a transit route for smuggling cocaine from Colombia to the United States.
“For more than 20 years, Maduro and a number of high-ranking colleagues allegedly conspired with the FARC, causing tons of cocaine to enter and devastate American communities,” OCCRP quoted Barra as saying.
He added: “Today’s announcement is aimed at rooting out widespread corruption in the Venezuelan government – a system created and controlled to enrich those at the highest levels of government.”
The US is attacking Venezuela
Several explosions were heard and low-flying planes flew over the Venezuelan capital as Maduro’s government accused the United States of targeting both civilian and military installations. Authorities described the incident as an “imperialist attack” and called on citizens to take to the streets.
The attack lasted less than 30 minutes and at least seven explosions sent people running into the streets, while others took to social media to share what they saw and heard. It was not clear if there were any deaths or injuries on either side.
Meanwhile, with Maduro’s location unknown, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez would take over under Venezuelan law, although that has not been confirmed to have happened, according to the AP. However, she issued a statement after the strike. “We do not know where President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores are staying,” Rodríguez said, adding: “We require proof of life.”
