29 Jul The Cartel de los Soles: From Cocaine Network to Terrorist Organization
The Trump Administration’s Hemispheric Security Strategy
By,
Jesús Romero. Co-Founder & Senior Fellow, MSI²
Introduction: On July 25, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury designated the Cartel de los Soles as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) organization under Executive Order 13224. This marked the first time a state-run cartel, operating under military command authority, was legally classified as a terrorist organization.
The designation followed a U.S.–Venezuela prisoner exchange and reports of intelligence-sharing negotiations involving former Venezuelan intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal (U.S. Department of the Treasury, 2025; Energy Analytics Institute, 2025).
Rubio’s Strategic Break
Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the designation in national security terms:
“Maduro is the leader of the designated narco-terrorist organization Cartel de Los Soles.”
This language marked a departure from previous administrations, which focused on corruption and sanctions. Rubio named Nicolás Maduro and Diosdado Cabello directly as terrorist leaders (Energy Analytics Institute, 2025).
Prior Indictments: Building Toward the SDGT Designation
The legal foundation for this designation dates back to March 26, 2020, when the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York indicted Maduro, Cabello, and other regime officials for narco-terrorism, conspiracy, and cocaine trafficking in partnership with the FARC.
The indictment stated they conspired to “flood the United States with cocaine” using military-run air and maritime routes, effectively weaponizing the drug trade (U.S. Department of Justice, 2020).
Cuba and Venezuela: A Strategic Axis
In January 2025, the Trump administration reaffirmed Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST). Cuba continues to provide safe haven to ELN guerrillas, training support to Venezuela’s counterintelligence units, and logistical backing to Maduro’s regime. This designation, alongside the SDGT action against Cartel de los Soles, outlines a regional axis of repression and hybrid warfare (Energy Analytics Institute, 2025).
Regional Destabilization
The Cartel de los Soles has exported chaos throughout the region:
- Ecuador: Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated in August 2023 after denouncing the cartel’s presence and Tren de Aragua’s links to Venezuelan intelligence.
- Haiti: Venezuelan arms and cocaine have strengthened gangs like G9, deepening political and humanitarian collapse.
- Guatemala: Cartel-linked flights land in Petén under the cover of corrupted local officials; Tren de Aragua operates along migrant extortion routes.
- Costa Rica: Record cocaine seizures and multiple arrests of Venezuelan nationals have confirmed the country’s new role as a cartel logistics node (Human Rights Foundation, 2025).
Legal and Strategic Tools: Title 10 vs. Title 50
The SDGT designation enables U.S. agencies to apply Title 50 authorities, used for intelligence operations and covert disruption. This complements Title 10 military tools, such as those used by SOUTHCOM and JIATF-S. The coordinated use of military and intelligence power reflects a whole-of-government shift from drug control to counterterrorism doctrine.
Aviation Networks and Final Flight
My 2023 book Final Flight: Queen of Air, exposed Venezuela’s cocaine aviation corridors. These flights—originating from military-controlled airstrips in Zulia and Apure—were protected by radar blackouts and security services. Once considered mere corruption, these are now officially defined as terror-linked trafficking operations (Romero, 2023).
El Cartel de los Soles: A Criminal Trojan Horse
My upcoming book expands this narrative to include Iran’s IRGC, Hezbollah’s money laundering networks in the Tri-Border Area, and Tren de Aragua’s paramilitary repression. The 2025 SDGT designation confirms what was previously alleged: Venezuela governs not in spite of criminality, but through it.
Active Bounty Campaign: DEA Targets Maduro and Cabello
The U.S. Narcotics Rewards Program now offers $25 million each for information leading to the arrest of Nicolás Maduro Moros and Diosdado Cabello Rondón (CBS News, 2025). This is the most extensive bounty campaign in the program’s history. DEA channels have promoted the campaign through social media and regional broadcasts. Both figures are now treated as fugitive narco-terrorists, not state actors (U.S. Department of State, 2025).
Conclusion
From my perspective as a former U.S. Navy intelligence officer and regional counter-narcotics coordinator, this is the most complete pressure doctrine ever levied against the Maduro regime. While the administration has avoided the language of regime change, the deployment of Treasury, Justice, Defense, and Intelligence resources reflects a systemic effort to isolate, prosecute, and ultimately dismantle the core of Venezuela’s criminal state.
References
CBS News. (2025, January 10). U.S. reward for Venezuela’s Maduro increased to $25 million. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/reward-for-venezuelas-maduro-increased-to-25-million/
Energy Analytics Institute. (2025, July 25). U.S. designates Cartel de los Soles for supporting U.S.-designated terrorist organizations. Energy Analytics Institute. https://energy-analytics-institute.org/2025/07/25/eai-brief-us-designates-cartel-de-los-soles-for-supporting-other-terrorist-organizations/
Energy Analytics Institute. (2025, July 27). Marco Rubio: Venezuela is the main narcotics threat to the United States. Energy Analytics Institute. https://energy-analytics-institute.org/2025/07/27/marco-rubio-says-us-standing-with-the-venezuelan-people/
Human Rights Foundation. (2025, April 25). Venezuela’s Maduro continues to use Tren de Aragua for transnational repression, kidnapping, assassination. Human Rights Foundation. https://hrf.org/latest/venezuelas-maduro-continues-to-use-tren-de-aragua-for-transnational-repression-kidnapping-assassination/
Romero, J. D. (2023). Final Flight: Queen of Air. Bravo Zulu Publishing.
U.S. Department of Justice. (2020, March 26). Nicolás Maduro Moros and 14 current and former Venezuelan officials charged with narco-terrorism, corruption, and drug trafficking. U.S. Department of Justice. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/nicolas-maduro-moros-and-14-current-and-former-venezuelan-officials-charged-narco-terrorism
U.S. Department of State. (2025, January 8). Wanted: Nicolás Maduro and Diosdado Cabello—$25 million rewards. U.S. Department of State. https://www.state.gov/wanted-narcotics-reward-program-venezuelan-targets/
U.S. Department of the Treasury. (2025, July 25). Treasury sanctions Venezuelan cartel headed by Maduro. U.S. Department of the Treasury. https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2778
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Miami Strategic Intelligence Institute (MSI²).