The United States announced a broader strategy against international drug trafficking, focusing on the Cartel de los Soles, a criminal organization identified by Washington as part of the network of Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorial regime in Venezuela.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that for the first time in decades, the U.S. government is “on the offensive” against these structures and emphasized the building of an international coalition to confront what he described as “a scourge” for the region.
In a cabinet meeting of President Donald Trump at theWhite House, Rubio asserted that “the purpose is not only to stop the entry of narcotics, but to take this battle to the international stage to confront those behind this deadly poison”.
The official highlighted that the initiative has the cooperation of countries such as Argentina, Paraguay, Ecuador, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago, which have expressed their willingness to collaborate in joint actions against drug trafficking.
Washington accuses the Cartel de los Soles of operating as an extension of the Venezuelan state, with support from high-ranking military officials and individuals linked to Chavismo. According to the U.S. administration, this organization channels drugs to the U.S. market and represents a direct threat to its national security.
Meanwhile, alongside diplomatic progress, President Trump ordered an increased military presence in the Caribbean. An administration source reported that two additional warships —the guided-missile cruiser USS Erie and the nuclear attack submarine USS Newport News— will join next week the three vessels already deployed near Venezuela.
This move, authorities indicated, is part of efforts to hinder the operations of “narcoterrorist groups” linked to Maduro’s regime.
Caracas’s response was immediate. Maduro announced the mobilization of 4.5 million militia members, a civilian force under the orbit of the Armed Forces, with the aim of countering what he called “threats” coming from Washington.
Meanwhile, the Argentine government led by Javier Milei moved forward this Tuesday in the same direction as the United States. The Ministry of Security formalized the inclusion of the Cartel de los Soles in the Public Registry of Persons and Entities Linked to Acts of Terrorism and Their Financing (RePET).
With this measure, Argentina aligns itself with the U.S. strategy by considering the Venezuelan organization a transnational criminal structure that requires coordinated responses in terms of security and international cooperation.
