Rubio: US to designate Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as Foreign Terrorist Organisation

The United States plans to designate the Cartel de los Soles — which Washington alleges is overseen by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The move signals a sharp escalation in tensions between Washington and Caracas, Caliber.Az reports.

Rubio announced the decision in a post on X, citing the cartel’s alleged role in destabilising Venezuela’s institutions and facilitating international criminal activity.

“The US Department of State intends to designate Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO),” Rubio wrote.

“Headed by the illegitimate Nicolás Maduro, the group has corrupted the institutions of government in Venezuela and is responsible for terrorist violence conducted by and with other designated FTOs, as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe.”

In recent months, the US has dramatically escalated pressure on Venezuela by targeting the Cartel de los Soles, a network long alleged to be linked with President Nicolás Maduro. In July 2025, the US Treasury designated it a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group, accusing it of materially supporting both the Tren de Aragua and Sinaloa cartels.

In August, Washington deployed multiple warships to the southern Caribbean as part of an anti-narcotics push, prompting Maduro to mobilise millions of militia members in response.

The state’s broad crackdown reflects a shift in US policy: treating deeply embedded organised crime in Venezuela not just as trafficking, but as narco-terrorism. Several regional governments, including Paraguay, have followed suit in designating the cartel as a terrorist organisation.

By Aghakazim Guliyev