Justice Department Downplays "Terrorist" Ties of Venezuelan Leader's Accused Cartel
The US Department of Justice has significantly toned down its references to the Cartel de Los Soles, a cartel accused of being linked to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's alleged narco-terrorism conspiracy. The amended indictment released on Saturday uses the term only twice and describes it as "patronage system", removing explicit language linking officials directly to the cartel.
The original 2020 grand jury indictment featured the phrase 32 times, with Maduro referred to as its leader. However, the Cartel de Los Soles is actually a colloquialism coined by Venezuelan journalists in the 1990s to describe leaders corrupted by drug money, not an actual organized crime group. The term's name, meaning "Cartel of the Suns", refers to the sun symbols on many high-ranking officials' uniforms.
Despite this, the US Department of State designated the Cartel de Los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization in November 2025, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing the designation following Treasury sanctions. However, it appears that the amended indictment has been quietly downplayed to avoid implying direct ties between Maduro and the cartel.
Rubio continued to refer to the Cartel de Los Soles as an actual organization headed by Maduro during a Sunday appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, despite the amendments being released just one day earlier. This suggests a discrepancy in the language used by top US officials regarding the legitimacy of the cartel.
The US Department of Justice has significantly toned down its references to the Cartel de Los Soles, a cartel accused of being linked to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's alleged narco-terrorism conspiracy. The amended indictment released on Saturday uses the term only twice and describes it as "patronage system", removing explicit language linking officials directly to the cartel.
The original 2020 grand jury indictment featured the phrase 32 times, with Maduro referred to as its leader. However, the Cartel de Los Soles is actually a colloquialism coined by Venezuelan journalists in the 1990s to describe leaders corrupted by drug money, not an actual organized crime group. The term's name, meaning "Cartel of the Suns", refers to the sun symbols on many high-ranking officials' uniforms.
Despite this, the US Department of State designated the Cartel de Los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization in November 2025, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing the designation following Treasury sanctions. However, it appears that the amended indictment has been quietly downplayed to avoid implying direct ties between Maduro and the cartel.
Rubio continued to refer to the Cartel de Los Soles as an actual organization headed by Maduro during a Sunday appearance on NBC's Meet the Press, despite the amendments being released just one day earlier. This suggests a discrepancy in the language used by top US officials regarding the legitimacy of the cartel.
I'm totally confused about this whole thing. The Cartel de Los Soles is basically a nickname that Venezuelan journalists use to describe how corrupt some officials are, but now the US is calling it a terrorist organization? Like, what's going on here? 
They're toning down the language in the indictment but Rubio is still talking about it like it's a real deal. It's all pretty shady if you ask me 
. I mean, Maduro has already been accused of being connected to the cartel in some way, so why are they being so careful now? Is it because they don't want to make things worse between us and Venezuela? 
... They're basically saying that a group of people they've labeled as "terrorists" aren't actually a terrorist organization, but more like some kind of patronage system for corrupt officials? It's like they're trying to spin this in a way that makes Maduro look less guilty. And what's with the weird name, "Cartel de Los Soles"? Sounds like something out of a cartoon 
... Anyway, I'm not buying it. If the US is going to say one thing about an organization and then another thing later on, that just makes me question everything. Marco Rubio needs to get his story straight 
.
The US government is acting all secretive and stuff about their dealings with Venezuela and now they're downplaying the connection between Maduro's cartel and actual terrorism? It's like, come on guys, be honest! If the Cartel de Los Soles was a legit terrorist organization, shouldn't it be called as such? 
. And now that they've downplayed it in the indictment, but still got Rubio saying it's an actual org? 
. But honestly, it's hard not to feel a little uneasy about this whole thing...
. Like, doesn't that just contradict itself? And why did they water it down so much in the indictment? Are they worried about scaring off Maduro or something? 
. Guess that's what happens when you're dealing with politics and bureaucratic speak - everyone's gotta play nice... until someone loses face 
. Did they just forget? Or was there some behind-the-scenes deal-making going on? 
. I mean, if you call them a terrorist organization, that's pretty serious stuff. And yet, they're still using that "patronage system" mumbo-jumbo in the indictment. What's up with that? It seems like the US is caught between a rock and a hard place – do they want to antagonize Venezuela or just give Maduro a slap on the wrist 
it's like they're trying to downplay things or something. and then Rubio goes on TV saying it's a legit org headed by Maduro... that's just confusing 
The fact that it's got Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying one thing and the DOJ downplaying it another kinda raises questions about what's really going on here. 
And can we talk about how this whole thing started with Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro being accused of something? 
. And yet, they still labeled it a foreign terrorist organization without even considering if that was accurate 
. I mean what's going on here? Are they trying to justify their whole stance or just playing dumb? Marco Rubio's comments are wild - he's saying one thing but using different language the next day... it's like he can't make up his mind 
. And honestly, this whole situation is giving me major whiplash 
. Can someone please explain what's really going on here?