Trump Admin Accused of Colonial Aggression After Fabricated Venezuela Cartel Exposed

A major pillar of the Trump administration's justification for unprecedented military intervention in Venezuela, the existence of a structured drug trafficking cartel known as the Cartel de los Soles, has been publicly undermined by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ).

US prosecutors have rewritten key language in the superseding federal indictment against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro Moros and other officials, effectively abandoning the claim that Cartel de los Soles is a distinct organised criminal cartel. The adjusted document now describes the phrase as a reference to a loose patronage system of corrupt officials rather than a formal drug cartel.

For months, the US government asserted that Maduro led a criminal enterprise that trafficked cocaine into the United States and opposed it as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. That narrative has formed the legal and political rationale for an extraordinary military operation culminating in Maduro's capture in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026 and his transfer to New York to face charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation.

Cartel De Los Soles: From 'Cartel' to Patronage System

US authorities first indicted Maduro and senior Venezuelan officials in March 2020, alleging they acted as leaders of the so-called Cartel de los Soles, conspiring with Colombian guerrilla groups to traffic cocaine into the United States.

Over the ensuing years, the Trump White House escalated the rhetoric. In July 2025, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) declared the Cartel de los Soles a Specially Designated Global Terrorist organisation, claiming it gave material support to violent criminal groups including Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and Venezuela's Tren de Aragua.

The US State Department went further in November 2025, officially listing the Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO), an unprecedented label previously reserved for groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS. That step was publicly justified by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who claimed the organisation was responsible for 'terrorist violence' and drug trafficking across the Western Hemisphere.

But independent legal analysis and expert commentary have long cast doubt on the coherence of the cartel narrative. Analysts specialising in Latin American organised crime noted that 'Cartel de los Soles' originated in Venezuelan media in the 1990s as a metaphorical description of corruption among high-ranking military officials, the 'suns' referring to the sun insignia on their uniforms, rather than a formal criminal enterprise.

The revised indictment effectively mirrors this assessment by describing Cartel de los Soles not as a cartel with command-and-control architecture, but as a culture of corruption and patronage network through which illicit proceeds and protection of drug traffickers flowed among officials.

Legal Unravelling and International Backlash

The shift in prosecutorial framing has triggered a firestorm of criticism from legal experts, foreign governments and Venezuela's representatives abroad. Critics argue it undermines the foundational premise for the US military operation that removed Maduro from power.

Venezuela's government has consistently rejected the cartel and narco-terrorism allegations as fabrications designed to justify regime change. In statements published on official Telegram accounts, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil described the terrorist designation as a 'ridiculous fabrication' intended to legitimise illegal intervention.

Some argue that the erosion of the cartel narrative in official documents raises questions about the legality of the military operation under both domestic and international law. Under the United Nations Charter, the use of force is generally prohibited outside self-defence or Security Council authorisation, and critics say fabricated pretexts do not satisfy legal thresholds. AP News

The international reaction has been equally sharp. Governments in Mexico, Brazil and Turkey have condemned the intervention, asserting that it violates Venezuelan sovereignty and sets a dangerous precedent for unilateral actions justified by unsubstantiated criminal narratives.

Legal Basis For Charges Remains Complex

While the Cartel de los Soles terminology has been softened in the indictment, the US case against Maduro and his co-defendants remains formidable. The superseding indictment details a broad conspiracy allegedly involving Venezuelan political and military officials providing protection and logistical support to traffickers in exchange for benefits.

The legal documents describe long-term patterns of corruption, but stop short of presenting evidence of a centralised cartel structure with Maduro in command. Earlier DOJ filings alleged cooperation with entities such as FARC, a Colombian guerrilla group, but these claims have also been contested.

In federal court proceedings in Manhattan, Maduro pleaded not guilty to the charges brought against him, asserting his sovereign immunity as a sitting head of state — a defence with limited precedent in US courts.