State Department to Designate Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, Effective November 24
On November 16, 2025, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement in Washington that the Department of State intends to designate Cartel de los Soles, based in Venezuela, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), effective November 24, 2025.
The statement said the organization is headed by Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking individuals of the illegitimate Maduro regime who have corrupted Venezuela's military, intelligence, legislature and judiciary, and that neither Maduro nor his cronies represent Venezuela's legitimate government.
The department said Cartel de los Soles, by and with other designated FTOs including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, is responsible for terrorist violence throughout the hemisphere as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe.
Rubio said the United States will continue using all available tools to protect its national security interests and deny funding and resources to narco-terrorists. The action is taken pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and FTO designations go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register. The department said Cartel de los Soles was previously designated by the Department of the Treasury pursuant to Executive Order 13224.
Source: U.S. Department of State
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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