Sanctions & Designations

On Monday, Nov. 24, 2025, the State Department formally designated Venezuela’s “Cartel de los Soles” a Foreign Terrorist Organization, mirroring a Treasury action from July and explicitly tying the network to President Nicolás Maduro — a characterization Caracas rejected. The administration says the step is part of a pressure campaign that has included maritime strikes (more than 80 killed), expanded naval and troop deployments and leaves kinetic options — including targeting assets or infrastructure — on the table, even as experts note “Cartel de los Soles” is an umbrella term for corrupt military networks rather than a discrete cartel and U.S. officials have not publicly linked specific strikes to designated groups.