Narco-terrorism Charges Against Maduro and the “Cartel of the Suns”

New narco-terrorism charges against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro are notable for their lack of evidence. On March 26, U.S. attorney general William Barr announced new charges against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and other Venezuelan officials, along with two leaders of the FARC in Colombia. The charges included narco-terrorism, drug-trafficking, and corruption, and came with a $15 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Maduro.

The corruption of the Maduro government is well known, and the U.S. government has long accused Venezuelan officials of working with the FARC to traffic cocaine out of Colombia. Since early 2019, the United States has not recognized Maduro as the legitimate head of the Venezuelan state. Two points among the list of charges do, however, stand out as being novel and indicative of renewed U.S. efforts to delegitimize Maduro’s rule. The first is the claim that Maduro and other government officials are members of a drug-trafficking organization called the “Cartel of the Suns.” The second is that this so-called cartel conspires to weaponize the cocaine trade to commit terrorism against the United States. This renewed pressure on Maduro comes as Venezuela faces a coronavirus public health crisis, which exacerbates the impact of U.S. sanctions.