In a bizarre move, the Department of Justice has seemingly downplayed the existence of the alleged "terrorist" Cartel de Los Soles in an updated indictment against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The original 2020 grand jury indictment mentioned the cartel a staggering 32 times, with Maduro listed as its head, but the amended version barely mentions it twice, rebranding it as a "patronage system."
The name "Cartel de Los Soles," meaning "Cartel of the Suns" in English, was actually coined by Venezuelan journalists in the 1990s to describe corrupt officials linked to the drug trade – not an actual cartel. Its logo features sun symbols on many high-ranking official's uniforms.
Despite this, Maduro has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Department of State, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the move just days before the indictment update. The designation allows for sanctions against Maduro's regime, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent labeling it an "illegitimate Maduro regime" that facilitates narco-terrorism.
However, in a bizarre inconsistency, Rubio continued to refer to Cartel de Los Soles as a real organization led by Maduro in an interview just days after the indictment update. The secretary of state claimed to be targeting transnational criminal organizations like the cartel, but did not acknowledge the updated language downplaying its existence.
Maduro himself pleaded not guilty to all charges on Monday, including "narco-terrorism conspiracy" and other allegations against him. Critics like Sen. John Cornyn have accused Maduro of being a major player in a network involving high-ranking Venezuelan military officers and government officials. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson described the Maduro regime as a "criminal organization masquerading as a government," with activities allegedly coordinated with designated narco-terrorists.
The move has sparked concerns about the Department of Justice's use of language, particularly given Rubio's recent assertions about the cartel. It remains to be seen how this update will impact ongoing efforts to prosecute Maduro and his alleged associates.
The name "Cartel de Los Soles," meaning "Cartel of the Suns" in English, was actually coined by Venezuelan journalists in the 1990s to describe corrupt officials linked to the drug trade – not an actual cartel. Its logo features sun symbols on many high-ranking official's uniforms.
Despite this, Maduro has been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Department of State, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the move just days before the indictment update. The designation allows for sanctions against Maduro's regime, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent labeling it an "illegitimate Maduro regime" that facilitates narco-terrorism.
However, in a bizarre inconsistency, Rubio continued to refer to Cartel de Los Soles as a real organization led by Maduro in an interview just days after the indictment update. The secretary of state claimed to be targeting transnational criminal organizations like the cartel, but did not acknowledge the updated language downplaying its existence.
Maduro himself pleaded not guilty to all charges on Monday, including "narco-terrorism conspiracy" and other allegations against him. Critics like Sen. John Cornyn have accused Maduro of being a major player in a network involving high-ranking Venezuelan military officers and government officials. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson described the Maduro regime as a "criminal organization masquerading as a government," with activities allegedly coordinated with designated narco-terrorists.
The move has sparked concerns about the Department of Justice's use of language, particularly given Rubio's recent assertions about the cartel. It remains to be seen how this update will impact ongoing efforts to prosecute Maduro and his alleged associates.
I'm really confused by the whole Cartel de Los Soles thing. Like, is it real or not? 
The original indictment was super detailed, but now it's just a "patronage system" which sounds like a total misnomer to me. 
And what's with Marco Rubio's inconsistency? One day he says Cartel de Los Soles is real, the next day it's barely mentioned. Not exactly reassuring when you're talking about designating someone a foreign terrorist organization... 
It's like they picked it from a dictionary or something! 
And now Maduro's being called out for his alleged ties to a non-existent cartel. I'm guessing some folks just wanted an excuse to put sanctions on Venezuela and now they're getting all the attention with this drama. What's next, will we start calling Cartel de Los Soles "Cartel of the Mondays" because that sounds about right? 
so the US gov is saying there's this super powerful cartel called Cartel de Los Soles, but like it never existed before 
and now they're just using a fancy name for some old corruption thingy that journalists used back in the 90s 
. and meanwhile Maduro gets designated as a foreign terrorist org 
which is pretty wild considering this whole thing seems kinda made up 
. what's the real motive here? 
? And what's with Rubio trying to keep the momentum going w/ his narco-terrorism talk? Sounds like more politicking than serious efforts to hold Maduro accountable 
. It's like they can't make up their minds.
. Like, are they trying to help or hinder Maduro's case? 
It's like they're trying to rewrite history or something. And then Marco Rubio is still going around calling it a real cartel, but not mentioning the fact that they changed their minds about what it is... it's like he's playing with words. 
I mean, Maduro's already got some pretty strong defenders (and detractors) out there... this move could be seen as either a strategic ploy to deflect attention from other alleged wrongdoings or an attempt to actually clarify the situation. Either way, it's gonna be super interesting to see how this plays out in the courts and beyond 
like what even is the Cartel de Los Soles lol wasnt that just some old term from the 90s? 
so like what's up with this? DOJ updates indictment on Venezuela's president Nicolás Maduro and suddenly Cartel de Los Soles is just a "patronage system" 
. And Marco Rubio's still spewing that whole "narco-terrorism" nonsense even after the language gets watered down? Come on 
. We need to take a step back and think this through before we make any more decisions.
. I just wish we could have a calm and rational conversation about what's really going on instead of resorting to labels and rhetoric 
.