Latest news with #CarteldelosSoles
Fox News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
US accuses Venezuelan regime of narco-terrorism over alliances with Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa Cartel
The U.S. government has named the Cartel de los Soles, a Venezuela-based criminal group led by President Nicolás Maduro, a global terrorist organization. Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, is being sanctioned by the U.S. for providing support to foreign terrorist organizations, including the violent Tren de Aragua and Sinaloa Cartel, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. "Today's action further exposes the illegitimate Maduro regime's facilitation of narco-terrorism through terrorist groups like Cartel de los Soles," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. "The Treasury Department will continue to execute on President Donald Trump's pledge 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." Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, is involved in a range of criminal activities, including human smuggling and the illicit drug trade. The Sinaloa Cartel, a violent and powerful Mexican cartel, is responsible for trafficking drugs like fentanyl into the U.S., according to the Treasury Department. In an X post, the Drug Enforcement Administration wrote that it is seeking information leading to the arrests and convictions of Maduro, Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace Diosdado Cabello Rondón and Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino López. In January, the U.S. increased an reward to $25 million for information leading to Maduro's arrest and/or conviction. The U.S. has not recognized Maduro as the Venezuelan president since 2019. In May, the U.S. advised citizens to avoid traveling to Venezuela and its borders. According to the U.S. Department of State, citizens were warned not to travel to Venezuela due to severe risks, including wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest and poor health infrastructure.
Epoch Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Epoch Times
US Sanctions Maduro-Linked Venezuelan ‘Cartel of the Suns' as Terrorist Entity
The Treasury Department on Friday designated Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles—known in English as the Cartel of the Suns—as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity, accusing President Nicolas Maduro and senior members of his regime of leading the group and supporting major drug cartels whose activities threaten U.S. national security. The designation, issued by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on July 25 under counterterrorism authorities, blocks all property and interests of the group within U.S. jurisdiction, and generally prohibits Americans from engaging in transactions with it.
Newsweek
5 days ago
- Politics
- Newsweek
Cartel 'Headed By Maduro' Added To US Terrorist List
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The U.S. has designed the Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist group and said it is headed by the president of the South American country, Nicolás Maduro. The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced it had sanctioned the cartel as a specially designated global terrorist organization. The OFAC statement said the group supports foreign terrorist organizations threatening the peace and security of the United States, namely Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel. Newsweek has contacted the Venezuelan foreign ministry for comment. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro celebrates the results of the parliamentary and regional elections at the Bolivar square in Caracas on May 25, 2025. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro celebrates the results of the parliamentary and regional elections at the Bolivar square in Caracas on May 25, It Matters The Trump administration has pledged to crack down on drug trafficking, targeting in particular Latin American gangs. Around 250 Venezuelans were deported from the U.S. to a prison in El Salvador after President Donald Trump invoked a centuries old law intended for use in times of war, due to the "invasion" of alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang named in OFAC's statement. The men were returned in a deal with the U.S. that saw the release of 10 Americans detained in Venezuela. The ruling on Cartel de los Soles may add pressure on Caracas and the regime of Maduro which the U.S. considers illegitimate, having already issued an outstanding order for his capture. What To Know In a statement on Friday, OFAC said it had sanctioned the Cartel de los Soles, which it described as a Venezuela-based criminal group headed by Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan individuals in his regime. The statement said the group provides support to foreign terrorist organizations threatening the peace and security of the United States, namely Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel—one of Mexico's most powerful groups that traffics drugs into the U.S. Thank you, @POTUS, @SecRubio, and @SecScottBessent, for granting my request to designate Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization. Americans are safer now that it's harder for this disgusting gang to terrorize our country by flooding it with deadly drugs. Read more:… — Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) July 26, 2025 The statement said that Tren de Aragua was involved in the illicit drug trade, human smuggling and trafficking, extortion, sexual exploitation of women and children, and money laundering, among other criminal activities. On February 20, 2025, the State Department designated both Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. It comes after the U.S. restored Chevron Corp.'s ability to pump oil in Venezuela, reversing an earlier decision when the Trump administration was seeking to exert more pressure on Maduro's regime. What People Are Saying Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in a statement: "The Treasury Department will continue to execute on President Trump's pledge 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." Senator Rick Scott, (R-FL) on X: "Americans are safer now that it's harder for this disgusting gang to terrorize our country by flooding it with deadly drugs." What Happens Next The OFAC ruling will block all property and interests linked to Cartel de los Soles and was welcomed by Florida Senator Rick Scott who posted on X that "Americans are safer now." It could also add to international pressure against Maduro.
Bloomberg
6 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
US Treasury Sanctions Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles
The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said it has sanctioned the Cartel de los Soles. The Venezuela-based criminal group also provides support to other organizations including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, the department said in an statement.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Venezuela's ex-spy chief pleads guilty to narco-terrorism charges
Venezuela's former head of military intelligence, Hugo Carvajal - also known as "El Pollo", or The Chicken - has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges in the US. US officials accused the 65-year-old of forming part of a drug-smuggling organisation made up of high-ranking members of the Venezuelan military. The guilty plea is the latest twist in Carvajal's demise from feared spymaster to convict via his ignominious arrest in a hideout in Madrid, where he had been spotted despite donning a fake moustache and a wig. Carvajal, who was a close ally of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, is thought to hold key information about Chávez's successor, Nicolás Maduro. Carvajal was part of the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) - named after the suns which feature on the lapels of high-ranking officers in the Venezuelan military - according to a statement released by the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, where Carvajal was due to go on trial in the coming days. "For years, he and other officials in the Cartel de Los Soles used cocaine as a weapon - flooding New York and other American cities with poison," the statement read. It added that he partnered with left-wing rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces in neighbouring Colombia, whom he supplied with weapons and whose cocaine shipments to the US via Venezuela he protected. Carvajal received millions of dollars in payment in exchange, according to US Attorney Jay Clayton. The fact that Carvajal changed his plea to "guilty" two years after he denied all of the charges brought against him led to speculation he may have reached a deal for a lower sentence in exchange for providing incriminating information about the Maduro's government. The US charged Maduro with "narco-terrorism" five years ago and has imposed sanctions on him and his inner circle. Maduro has long accused the US of trying to overthrow him in order to seize control of Venezuela's oil reserves and has said that the charges against him are part of their efforts to remove him from office. As former spy chief, Carvajal is thought to have access to a wealth of material about the current and past Venezuelan governments. Relations between Carvajal and Maduro soured in 2017, when anti-government protests that Carvajal spoke out in favour of swept the country. They broke down completely in 2019, when Carvajal urged the military to back opposition leader Juan Guaidó's attempt to overthrow Maduro. When the military remained loyal to Maduro, Carvajal fled to Spain. Following several years during which he was on the run, he was finally tracked down to an apartment in Madrid and extradited to the US. Ex-Venezuela spy chief denies US drug charges Spain extradites Venezuela's ex-spy chief to US
