What is Cartel de los Soles, which the US is labelling as a terrorist organisation?

The United States has officially classified Venezuela's Cartel de los Suns as a foreign terrorist organization, claiming it is led by President Nicolás Maduro and senior government officials involved in large-scale drug trafficking operations. The designation grants American law enforcement expanded authority to target the alleged network, which experts describe not as a traditional cartel but rather as a widespread corruption system within Venezuela's military and government institutions that facilitates cocaine smuggling. While the Venezuelan government categorically denies the cartel's existence and calls the designation a fabrication to justify intervention, several former high-ranking Venezuelan officials—including military leaders and intelligence chiefs—have defected and provided testimony to US authorities confirming the organization's drug-trafficking activities.