On July 25, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
Cartel de los Soles is a Venezuela-based criminal group allegedly headed by Nicolas Maduro Moros and other high-ranking Venezuelan individuals in the Maduro regime that “provides material support to foreign terrorist organisations threatening the peace and security of the United States, namely Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel”.
“Today’s action further exposes the illegitimate Maduro regime’s facilitation of narco-terrorism through terrorist groups like Cartel de los Soles,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The Treasury Department will continue to execute on President Trump’s pledge to put America First by cracking down on violent organisations, including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, and their facilitators, like Cartel de los Soles.”
OFAC said it was sanctioning the Cartel de los Soles, “which has provided material support to Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel”. Tren de Aragua is a Foreign Terrorist Organisation “that originated in Venezuela and is involved in the illicit drug trade, human smuggling and trafficking, extortion, sexual exploitation of women and children, and money laundering, among other criminal activities”.
As a result of the sanction, said the Treasury, all property and interests in property of the designated person described above that are in the U.S. or the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.
“In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 per cent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked,” said a statement by the Treasury. “Unless authorised by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked persons.”
The Sinaloa Cartel is an FTO and one of the oldest and most powerful cartels in Mexico, responsible for a significant portion of the deadly drugs trafficked into the United States from Mexico. In addition to trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and other illicit drugs into the U.S., the Sinaloa Cartel is engaged in widespread violence.
On February 20, 2025, the Department of State designated both Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel as FTOs and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Treasury previously sanctioned Tren de Aragua as a significant transnational criminal organisation on July 11, 2024.
The Sinaloa Cartel was identified by the United States as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker on April 15, 2009, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. On December 15, 2021, OFAC also designated the Sinaloa Cartel pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14059.
