Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela's president, during a press conference at Miraflores Palace in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday, July 31, 2024. (Gaby Oraa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
According to the State Department, "Based in Venezuela, the Cartel de los Soles is headed by Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking individuals of the illegitimate Maduro regime who have corrupted Venezuela’s military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary."
"Neither Maduro nor his cronies represent Venezuela’s legitimate government," the statement read.
"The Cartel de los Soles, in coordination with other terrorist organizations including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, is responsible for terrorist violence across our hemisphere and for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe."
RUBIO PROMISES MORE STRIKES ON VENEZUELAN CARTELS: ‘WE’RE NOT GOING TO SIT BACK ANYMORE’
The Trump administration ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford to head to U.S. Southern Command, prompting Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro to accuse Trump of "fabricating a new eternal war." (Juan Barreto/AFP via Getty Images; Getty Images)
"And I actually told Marco and some of the people are Secretary of state is doing a great job, by the way. I said, 'go to Congress and let them know we're not letting drugs come through Mexico. We're not letting them come through Venezuela,'" he added.
Trump's comments came just after he said that the government may be having discussions with Venezuela as well as confirming whether the new cartel designation would mean the U.S. government could now target Maduro's assets or infrastructure.
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"It allows us to do that," Trump confirmed while mentioning talks with the Venezuelan leader.
"We may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we'll see how that turns out. They would like to talk,' he said before adding, "We'll see what happens."
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of State for comment.
Emma Bussey is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Before joining Fox, she worked at The Telegraph with the U.S. overnight team, across desks including foreign, politics, news, sport and culture.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/marco-rubio-says-nicolas-maduros-cartel-de-los-soles-designated-terrorist-organization