Venezuela fired back on Monday with fierce energy, rejecting Washington’s new terrorist designation of the alleged “Cartel of the Suns” as nothing more than a “ridiculous lie” crafted to justify deeper US interference. Caracas accused the United States of manufacturing a narrative to pave the way for an “illegitimate and illegal intervention,” especially as American military power swells around the Caribbean.
The US designation of the “Cartel de los Soles” as a Foreign Terrorist Organization officially came into force on Monday, unlocking new legal pathways for pressure against President Nicolás Maduro’s government. Washington insists the group is tied to Maduro himself, yet no concrete evidence has been publicly presented — a detail that Venezuelan officials highlighted as proof of political motives rather than national security concerns.
This move slots neatly into a broader US campaign against drug trafficking and illegal migration from Latin America. But on the ground — or rather, on the water — the picture looks tense. The US has positioned the world’s largest aircraft carrier and other military assets across Caribbean waters. Officially, it’s part of an anti-drug operation. In Caracas, though, suspicions run deep that this deployment could be the early stages of an effort to unseat Venezuela’s leftist leader.
Since September, American forces have killed at least 83 people in airstrikes targeting boats accused of transporting narcotics, according to publicly released numbers. Yet again, no publicly available proof confirms that these boats carried drugs. With a powerful US military presence already in place, this new terrorist designation potentially provides legal justification for deeper actions against Venezuelan authorities.
US Senator Marco Rubio, one of Washington’s loudest voices on Venezuela, claimed in mid-November that the Cartel of the Suns is responsible for “terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere.” Still, the Trump administration has kept the extent of its ambitions vague, leaving analysts and policymakers jittery about what might come next.
Meanwhile, the tension is spilling into travel and aviation. Six airlines pulled the plug on flights to Venezuela over safety concerns this weekend. And the US Federal Aviation Administration issued a warning urging civilian aircraft to fly with extreme caution in Venezuelan airspace due to “worsening security” and increased military activity.
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