The Venezuelan government on Monday rejected what it called a "ridiculous" US plan to designate the "nonexistent" Cartel de los Soles a terrorist organisation, ahead of Washington's expected designation later in the day.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier this month his country would designate the Cartel de los Soles a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO) for its alleged role in importing illegal drugs into the US. The Trump administration, which alleges the cartel is made up of high-ranking officials, has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading the group, which he denies.
The move comes as Maduro faces escalating pressure from US President Donald Trump via a massive US military buildup in the Caribbean. It has also raised some concern that the US may seek to use the designation of the group to justify military action, though sanctions experts said the statute does not authorise such a move.
Maduro and his government have always denied any involvement in crime and have accused the US of seeking regime change because of a desire to control Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
“Venezuela categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejects the new and ridiculous fabrication by the Secretary of the US Department of State, Marco Rubio, which designates the non-existent Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organisation,” said Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil on his Telegram account.
The measure revives “an infamous and vile lie to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela, under the classic US regime-change format. This new manoeuvre will meet the same fate as previous and recurring aggressions against our country: failure,” it added.
Reuters reported on Saturday that the US is poised to launch a new phase of Venezuela-related operations in the coming days, though the news organisation was not able to establish the exact timing or scope of the new operations, nor whether Trump had made a final decision to act.
The US Treasury Department in July designated Cartel de los Soles, a reference to the sun insignia worn by Venezuelan generals, as a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist," a move that froze any of its US assets and generally barred Americans from dealing with it.
InSight Crime, a foundation that analyses organised crime, said in August that it was an "oversimplification" to say Maduro heads the cartel, saying that it "is more accurately described as a system of corruption wherein military and political officials profit by working with drug traffickers."
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