U.S. forces to target narco-terrorists in Southern Caribbean; Rubio says Maduro-led “criminal organisation” threatens U.S. oil companies in Guyana

As the United States (U.S.) prepares to deploy air and naval forces to the Southern Caribbean sea to address threats from Latin American drug cartels, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday said the Cartel de los Soles, also known as Cartel of the Suns, is masquerading as Venezuela’s government and posing a threat to American oil companies in Guyana.

“The Maduro regime is not a government, is not a legitimate government. We never recognised them as such. They are a criminal enterprise that basically has taken control of a national territory, of a country and who, by the way, are also threatening U.S. oil companies that are operating lawfully in Guyana,” Mr Rubio told reporters at the State Department. The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on July 25, 2025 designated Cartel de los Soles as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.

OFAC said Cartel de los Soles is a Venezuela-based criminal group allegedly headed by its President Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan individuals in the Maduro regime that provides material support to foreign terrorist organizations threatening the peace and security of the United States, namely Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel.

Mr Rubio had earlier this year, during a visit to Guyana, warned the Maduro-led dictatorship of stern action if he opted to invade Guyana to take over the Essequibo Region or attack ExxonMobil’s operations in Guyana’s waters. A Venezuelan Naval vessel had earlier this year entered the Stabroek Block and informed several vessels operating for ExxonMobil that they were in Venezuelan waters that had not yet been delimited with Guyana.

The Secretary of State also said on Wednesday that American forces would go after designated narco-terrorist groups operating in the region, a number of which are using international airspace and international waters to transit poison into the U.S. “Those groups will be confronted. The President has made that clear from the time that he operated,” he said.

Reuters news agency on Thursday reported that U.S. President Donald Trump wanted to use the military to go after Latin American drug gangs that have been designated as global terrorist organizations. The Pentagon had been directed to prepare options.

One U.S. official, who was speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the additional commitment of military assets would include several P-8 spy planes, at least one warship and at least one attack submarine.

The official said the process would be ongoing for several months and the plan was for them to operate in international airspace and international waters.

The naval assets can be used not just to carry out intelligence and surveillance operations, but also as a launching pad for targeted strikes if a decision is made, the official added.

Mr Trump has made cracking down on drug cartels a central goal of his administration, part of a wider effort to limit migration and secure the U.S. southern border.

The Trump administration in recent months has already deployed at least two warships to help in border security efforts and drug trafficking.

“This deployment is aimed at addressing threats to U.S. national security from specially designated narco-terrorist organizations in the region,” one of the sources said.

The Trump administration designated, in February, Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and other drug gangs as well as Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua as global terrorist organizations as Mr Trump stepped up immigration enforcement against alleged gang members.

The U.S. military has already been increasing its airborne surveillance of Mexican drug cartels to collect intelligence to determine how best to counter their activities. The Trump administration in recent months has already deployed at least two warships to help in border security efforts and to counter drug trafficking.