WASHINGTON (BN24) — The U.S. Department of the Treasury has formally designated the Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organization, alleging that the powerful criminal group is led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and other senior members of his regime.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced Friday that the cartel has been added to the U.S. terrorist blacklist for its ties to foreign terrorist organizations including Tren de Aragua and Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, both of which were previously labeled as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) earlier this year.
The designation comes amid intensified efforts by the Trump administration to target violent transnational networks fueling the U.S. drug crisis, with a renewed focus on Latin American syndicates. According to OFAC, Cartel de los Soles supports terrorist-linked groups engaged in drug trafficking, human smuggling, money laundering, and sexual exploitation.
“This action reflects President Trump’s commitment to put America First by cracking down on violent organizations—including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, and their facilitators like Cartel de los Soles,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
The cartel, long suspected of having deep ties within Venezuela’s military and political elite, has now become a central focus of U.S. law enforcement and national security policy in Latin America. The OFAC ruling will result in the blocking of all assets tied to the cartel and prohibits U.S. individuals or entities from engaging in transactions with its members.
Senator Rick Scott of Florida praised the designation, saying on X (formerly Twitter), “Americans are safer now that it’s harder for this disgusting gang to terrorize our country by flooding it with deadly drugs.”
The decision follows a dramatic move earlier this year when the U.S. deported 250 Venezuelans—believed to be linked to the Tren de Aragua gang—to El Salvador under wartime provisions invoked by Trump. The deportations were part of a broader prisoner exchange that also saw the release of 10 American detainees held by the Maduro regime.
Though the U.S. recently eased restrictions on Chevron Corp. to resume oil operations in Venezuela, this latest action signals that the Trump administration has not softened its stance toward Maduro, who is still subject to an outstanding U.S. warrant and considered illegitimate by Washington.
Tren de Aragua, which operates across Latin America and has gained a foothold in the U.S., is accused of trafficking women and children, running extortion rackets, and conducting drug operations in cooperation with the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Venezuelan government has not yet issued a response to the designation. Newsweek has contacted the Venezuelan foreign ministry for comment.
As pressure builds on Caracas and President Maduro’s inner circle, the U.S. is signaling that cooperation with terrorist-linked organizations will come at steep economic and political costs.
