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The Trump administration has officially designated Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his government allies as members of a foreign terrorist organization. Named "Cartel de los Soles"—a phrase experts describe more as an indictment of allegedly corrupt government officials than an organized crime group—this designation authorizes President Donald Trump to impose fresh sanctions targeting Maduro’s assets and infrastructure. Legal experts, however, clarify that it does not explicitly permit the use of lethal force.
Still, administration officials have been making the case that the designation — one of the State Department’s most serious counterterrorism tools — will give the US expanded military options for striking inside Venezuela.
Cartel de los Soles is used to describe a decentralized network of Venezuelan groups within the armed forces linked to drug trafficking, experts say. The Venezuelan president has always denied any personal involvement in drug trafficking, and his government has repeatedly denied the existence of the alleged cartel, which some experts suggest technically doesn’t exist in a conventional sense.
The designation, announced November 16, comes as the US military has amassed more than a dozen warships and 15,000 troops into the region as part of what the Pentagon has branded “Operation Southern Spear.” The US military has killed dozens of people in boat strikes as part of the anti-drug-trafficking campaign.
Trump has been briefed by top officials on a range of options for action inside Venezuela, including strikes on military or government facilities and special operations raids. The option of doing nothing also still exists.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Dan Caine, and his senior enlisted adviser, David Isom, will visit Puerto Rico on Monday to thank service members supporting missions in the Caribbean Sea.
There is some public opposition to US involvement in the region. According to a CBS News/YouGov poll released Sunday, 70% of Americans oppose the US taking military action in Venezuela, compared with 30% who favor action. Seventy-six percent of respondents say the Trump administration has not clearly explained the US position on military action.
Trump has expressed some openness to a diplomatic resolution, saying last week that Maduro “would like to talk” and later suggesting that he would be open to speaking with him “at a certain time.”
