Trump targets Venezuela’s Maduro with terror listing, sets stage for military options

In a major escalation, President Donald Trump has turned up the pressure on Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro’s regime by formally designating the so-called Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).

The move represents a shift from sanctions and diplomatic isolation to other tools of enforcement including covert operations and military force, reported Reuters. 

According to the U.S. State Department and Treasury, Cartel de los Soles is composed of senior Venezuelan military and government officials deeply embedded in the drug-trafficking pipelines that feed U.S. and European markets. 

The State Department says Maduro sits at the top of this network, Newsweek reported. 

Left-leaning media in the U.S., however, are countering this narrative, claiming the drug cartel, like Antifa, doesn’t really exist, arguing the idea of a “communist plot” to send “drugs and dangerous criminals to the U.S. “is wide of the mark.” 

By classifying the cartel as an FTO, the U.S. secures the ability to freeze assets, block transactions and, most critically, expand the legal rationale for more direct action against infrastructure and leadership. 

“The United States will continue using all available tools to protect our national security interests and deny funding and resources to narco-terrorists,” warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio about the FTO designation. 

USAToday reported that behind the scenes, Rubio is pushing for the end of the Maduro regime. 

Rubio’s move doesn’t come in isolation, however. 

Four U.S. officials told Reuters the Trump administration is preparing a new phase of operations aimed at Venezuela: covert action, military buildup in the Caribbean and a readiness to escalate if diplomacy fails. 

The U.S. carrier strike group led by USS Gerald R. Ford has deployed south of Puerto Rico, in movements tracked by satellite imagery, as part of a general deployment of force against Venezuela, which The Lion reported previously. 

Trump has gone further. 

In recent remarks he refrained from ruling out U.S. troops on the ground in Venezuela, signaling a far wider range of options than purely economic or diplomatic coercion. 

Caracas dismissed the U.S. designation as “ridiculous” and part of a regime-change gambit, rejecting any link between Maduro and the cartel. 

“Venezuela categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejects the new and ridiculous fabrication by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of State, Marco Rubio, which designates the non-existent Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization,” said Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil on his Telegram account, using the English translation of the group’s name, according to Reuters. 

But for Trump the message has been clear and consistent: Venezuela has an illegitimate leader in Maduro, who is trafficking terrorism and drugs in the western hemisphere. 

Still, Trump is trying to negotiate with Venezuela over reform in the oil-rich South American country. 

“We may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out,” Trump told reporters Sunday, according to the New York Times. 

The Times story also confirms the president has given a greenlight to the CIA to ramp up covert operations against Maduro and his government. 

Those covert actions are designed to help prepare the battle space for any coming U.S. military operations. 

The FTO designation of Cartel de los Soles signals a step-up in pressure that could shift into military action quickly if diplomacy doesn’t work. 

For Maduro, the stakes are higher than ever. 

And for the U.S., the question remains whether the result will be stopping drug trafficking or removing a regime. History suggests in the western hemisphere, Washington usually aims for both. 

Photo credit: Eneas De Troya (Flickr)