President Trump, speaking with reporters in West Palm Beach about Venezuela, said. Photo: X/Jennifer Jacobs
Guacamaya, November 16, 2025. The United States government confirmed that the Cartel of the Suns will be added to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) starting November 24. The measure is announced in a context of increasing military deployment in the Caribbean and new anti-drug operations, while Washington insists on linking the group to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, an accusation that Caracas rejects as fictitious.
The U.S. Department of State announced this Sunday that it will classify the Cartel of the Suns as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the group operates from Venezuela and is “led by Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking individuals of the illegitimate regime,” whom he blames for the corruption of institutions such as the Armed Forces, intelligence bodies, the National Assembly, and the judiciary.
The designation will take effect on November 24 and adds to the previous classification by the Department of the Treasury, which in July included the Cartel of the Suns on the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT). U.S. authorities argue that this measure will allow them to “deny financing and resources to the narcoterrorists.”
From Caracas, high-ranking officials—including the Minister of Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello—have insisted that the cartel is a “fabrication” by Washington. Cabello has stated that the United States “changes its boss every time someone bothers them,” referring to what he describes as a political construct without substance.
The confirmation of the new designation occurred hours after the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest in the U.S. fleet, entered the Caribbean as part of the military reinforcement ordered by President Donald Trump.
That same day, Washington reported the destruction of a vessel transporting drugs in the Pacific Ocean, where three people died, whom it accused of being “narcoterrorists.” With this operation, there have been 21 similar attacks since September and more than 80 fatalities.
Rubio, without explicitly referring to those actions, stated that the United States “will continue using all available tools to protect its national security.” He also reiterated that “Maduro and his cronies do not represent the legitimate government of Venezuela.”
The Secretary of State added that the Cartel of the Suns now figures alongside the Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel among the organizations that, according to Washington, “generate terrorist violence in the hemisphere and traffic drugs to the United States and Europe.”
However, the existence of the “Cartel of the Suns” as an organized criminal structure similar to Mexican cartels has been disputed and questioned by various experts.
Despite the toughening of measures, President Donald Trump told reporters in West Palm Beach that there could be “some conversations” with Nicolás Maduro: “We’ll see how they turn out. They want to talk,” he said, without offering further details.
What does it mean to be added to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations?
The designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization,established in Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), has immediate legal and financial effects. The process is managed by the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the Department of State, which assesses whether a group:
· Engages in acts of terrorism or terrorist activities, as defined by U.S. law, or has the intent and capability to do so.
· Poses a threat to U.S. national security or the security of its citizens.
Once the Secretary of State makes the decision, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Treasury Secretary, Congress is notified, and after a seven-day review period, the designation takes effect upon its publication in the Federal Register.
Legal consequences
Inclusion on the FTO list implies:
· A prohibition for any person under U.S. jurisdiction from providing material support to the group, including funding, training, services, or goods.
· Inadmissibility and possible deportation of members or representatives of the organization if they are foreigners.
· Mandatory freezing of funds: any U.S. financial institution must freeze the group’s assets or those of its agents and report them to the Department of the Treasury.
· Possibility of judicial review, if the organization files an appeal with the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals within 30 days of the designation.
Washington maintains that this mechanism is one of the most effective instruments for “disrupting financial and logistical networks” associated with terrorism.
However, it has been suggested that this action could seek to legitimize military attacks on Venezuelan territory.
