The United States has officially designated the ‘Cartel of the Suns’ as a foreign terrorist organization, placing it in the same category as Al-Qaeda and ISIS. This designation comes amid ongoing military actions by the US against alleged ‘narcoterrorist’ vessels off Venezuela’s coast. The Trump administration had previously accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and 14 officials of drug trafficking and organized crime, but many analysts are skeptical of the cartel’s existence and the validity of these claims. The move follows nearly two months of US airstrikes that have resulted in the deaths of around 80 people.
The term ‘Cartel of the Suns’ originated in the 1990s as a media reference to alleged corruption among Venezuelan military officers who reportedly wore Sun-shaped insignia on their uniforms. In 2020, the US indicted Maduro and 14 current or former officials on accusations of drug trafficking and organized crime…