The Venezuelan government claims it is “an invention” and advocates exercising its “legitimate defense” against the “aggressions.”
Experts dismiss the idea of a hierarchical organization led by Maduro and point to “purely economic” objectives.
The war on drugs has become the latest epicenter of tensions between Venezuela and the United States, which accuses the Caribbean country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, of harboring and leading a “terrorist organization” linked to drug trafficking: the Cartel of the Suns.
The alleged criminal group, which the State Department added to its sanctions list at the end of July, has been accused of supporting other such groups, such as Tren de Aragua and the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel, and is now serving as a pretext for Washington to impose restrictions and carry out attacks against vessels in the Caribbean.
The Donald Trump administration accuses this Venezuelan network of “providing support to other foreign terrorist organizations that seriously threaten the peace and security of the United States.” For the Republican president, it is a “danger” that is “corrupting Venezuelan institutions.”
Thus, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent defends its inclusion on the sanctions list; he believes this designation highlights the cartel’s “link to drug trafficking” and emphasizes that the measure responds to “Trump’s promises” to prioritize issues of vital importance to the United States.
The New York magnate, who claims that three “narco-boats” were destroyed in the Caribbean Sea by US forces as part of operations launched to stem the flow of drugs, insists that these drug traffickers “will be hunted down” in their efforts to bring narcotics into the United States.
CORRUPTION NETWORK
Although some experts argue that this is a corruption network made up of high-ranking members of the Armed Forces and not a drug trafficking gang, the Trump administration has placed a $50 million (approximately €42 million) bounty on Maduro, holding him directly responsible for this group’s actions and for promoting the entry of drugs into the United States with the ultimate goal of financing his government.
The think tank Insight Crime points out precisely that this organization, which a priori lacks a hierarchical organization—as the United States does—is more like “a corruption network in which high-ranking military and political officials benefit from agreements made with drug traffickers.” “The US sanctions package reinforces a mistaken view of this network, (…) when in reality it is a system of state corruption,” the group of experts indicates.
In other words, these officials would turn a blind eye to drug trafficking by third parties, instead of being part of or leading an illicit criminal and mafia organization structured around a leader. The sanctions imposed by US authorities also target individuals who, for the most part, already faced previously imposed restrictions.
US PRETEXT
However, this has allowed the Trump Administration greater approval for operations in the Caribbean, which have been harshly criticized by human rights organizations, which warn of a “dangerous precedent” in the region.
Among these NGOs is Amnesty International, which sees “dubious legality” and is “deeply alarmed” by this event, which it sees as a “clear violation of the right to life.” “The use of lethal force in this context has no justification,” it emphasizes.
The United States shot down the first boat on September 2, claiming the vessel was being used to transport drugs by the Aragua Train, despite having previously reached an agreement with Caracas for the exchange of hundreds of prisoners and the resumption of operations by the US oil company Chevron.
Although Trump maintains that Maduro himself also leads some of this gang’s activities, US intelligence has no evidence of this and flatly denies this alleged connection.
Insight Crime insists that the organization, whose name refers to the insignia affixed to the uniforms of Venezuelan military personnel, is not motivated by ideological motives but rather purely economic ones and does not truly support the Aragua Train, to which it is erroneously linked.
INTERNATIONAL STANCE
The situation, which has been repeated on two other occasions, has led various countries in the region, including Colombia, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Argentina, among others, to declare the Cartel of the Suns a terrorist organization, despite the Venezuelan government’s assertion that it is a “fabrication.”
Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello recently stated that “every time someone causes trouble, they are designated as the head of the Cartel of the Suns,” something that some countries, such as the United States, “have been fabricating for years.”
Furthermore, the European Parliament has requested a similar resolution by the entire EU against the alleged criminal network, which they accuse of “providing cover for armed groups.” This initiative has also been put forward at the national level through the Joint Committee for the European Union, which on Monday approved an initiative promoted by Vox and agreed upon with the PP (People’s Party) to urge the government to promote the inclusion of the alleged cartel on the EU list of terrorist organizations.
Caracas remains cautious: this week, Maduro said he was exercising his “legitimate right to defense” against US “aggression” and threatened “armed struggle” if Venezuela is “attacked.”
Everything indicates that the United States, which currently does not appear to have sufficient legal precepts to carry out this type of attack in the Caribbean, is seeking to put Caracas on the ropes as it expands its military presence in the region, as experts claim.
