The Trump administration has designated the Cartel of the Suns as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), a move widely anticipated. The announcement was made on Monday, November 24. According to a statement from the Department of State, the Cartel of the Suns is based in Venezuela and is led by Maduro and other high-ranking officials of his illegitimate regime, who have corrupted Venezuela's military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary. The statement also asserts that, along with other designated FTOs like the Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, the group is responsible for terrorist violence across the hemisphere and drug trafficking to the United States and Europe. This designation opens the door to new legal and financial sanctions against the leaders of the Venezuelan regime. The U.S. stated it will continue to use all available tools to protect its national security interests and deny funding and resources to narcoterrorists. 'Neither Maduro nor his henchmen represent the legitimate government of Venezuela,' the statement concludes.
