Maduro Feels the Heat: Five Ways the US is Taking Action ...

By Ellie Cook

Senior Defense Reporter

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The U.S. State Department has officially designated Venezuela-based cartel de los Soles a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), further ramping up pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, accused by the U.S. of heading the group.

The U.S. had warned on November 16 it would slap cartel de los Soles with the designation after the U.S. Treasury Department issued sanctions against the group.

The U.S. claimed the cartel was "responsible for terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe."

The Treasury said in July it was treating cartel de los Soles as a "specially designated global terrorist" and claimed at the time it provided "material support" for FTOs including Tren de Aragua—a Venezuelan group that started off life as a prison gang—and Mexico's Sinaloa cartel.

Caracas denies Maduro and other political, judicial and military figures run the cartel de los Soles.

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President Donald Trump and his administration are close to three months into a strike campaign on alleged drug trafficking vessels in the southern Caribbean and eastern Pacific. By the administration's own numbers, at least 83 people have been killed since early September.

The strikes, which international experts and former officials have criticized as likely breaching international law and ineffective in the long term, have come hand-in-hand with an intensive U.S. military build-up close to Venezuela.

The U.S. footprint in the region was bolstered earlier this month by the arrival of the U.S.'s largest aircraft carrier and the thousands of extra personnel, additional stealth aircraft and warships that come with it.

Observers have increasingly seen the strikes, and the looming military presence coupled with economic pressures on Caracas, as a U.S. attempt to crank up the pressure and oust Maduro. The U.S. doesn't recognize the authoritarian socialist leader as the winner of the country's 2024 elections.

Terrorist Designation of cartel de los Soles

The State Department said the FTO designation fell under the Immigration and Nationality Act and the U.S. would leverage "all available tools to protect our national security interests and deny funding and resources to narco-terrorists." Some legal experts say an FTO designation against cartels opens up doors for more criminal prosecutions.

Venezuela's foreign minister, Yvan Pinto Gil, said on Monday Caracas "categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejects" the FTO designation, which he called a "ridiculous fabrication." He said in a statement posted to messaging app Telegram that the designation was used to " justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela" with the hope of unseating Maduro.

Treasury Sanctions

The Treasury Department in July issued sanctions against cartel de los Soles as a "specially designated global terrorist" that it claimed at the time provided "material support" for FTOs, including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa cartel.

The Treasury said at the time that it was blocking all assets and property related to cartel de los Soles in the U.S. or in the possession of Americans. All entities that are 50 percent or more owned, including indirectly, by anyone related to cartel de los Soles are also cut off, the government said.

Breaking U.S. sanctions can incur civil or criminal charges for U.S. citizens and foreigners, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a statement.

The Treasury, under the outgoing Joe Biden administration, had placed sanctions on eight Venezuelans linked to Maduro in January.

The U.S, along with other Western countries, has long imposed sanctions on Venezuelan citizens and entities. The U.S. has for years imposed export controls on dual-use technology linked to Venezuela, according to congressional research documents.

Reward for Maduro's Arrest

The Trump administration in August doubled the reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest to $50 million. The Biden administration in January surged the reward from $15 million to $25 million as Maduro was inaugurated for his third term in office. Maduro faces narcoterrorism and other drug-related charges in the U.S. dating back to 2020.

The Biden administration also offered a $15 million reward for information on the head of Vladimir Padrino López, Venezuela's defense minister, and a $25 million prize connected to the future arrest of Diosdado Cabello Rondón, Maduro's justice minister. These rewards have not been altered during Trump's second term.

Military and Covert Operations

The U.S. has carried out at least 21 strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels since early September. The Senate failed earlier in November to impose checks on the administration after lawmakers on both sides of the aisle petitioned for more information on the rationale behind the strikes.

Trump has left the door open to land assaults in Venezuela, and last month authorized the CIA to carry out covert operations in the country.

It is not clear how far the administration will go in bearing down on Venezuela, but it is generally thought a boots-on-the-ground invasion of Venezuela is off the table. Authorizing such an operation would jar with the America First agenda the administration has trumpeted and would resurrect ghosts of U.S. military intervention in countries like Panama, Afghanistan and Vietnam.

Diplomatic Pressure

A senior Biden administration official said in September 2024 the State Department had revoked close to 2,000 visas on Venezuelan officials for alleged roles in corruption, undermining democracy and human rights abuses. The Trump administration has limited certain visas issued to Venezuelans.

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