Goldberg: The incomprehensible march toward regime change in Venezuela

"On Monday, the United States formally designated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his allies in government as members of a foreign terrorist organization called Cartel de los Soles, a group that doesn't exist. There's no such thing as the cartel, Phil Gunson, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, said by phone from Venezuela's capital, Caracas, on Monday. Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, is a pejorative Venezuelan term for corrupt figures."

"Declaring this fake cartel a terrorist organization could have real-world consequences. I think it's intended to send the message to Maduro that you are now considered a terrorist, and therefore, you might suffer the same fate as Osama bin Laden, Gunson said. It's at once a threat and a rationale for a possible regime change operation, a military adventure that would be utterly preposterous but also looks increasingly likely."

"For months now, the United States has been committing extrajudicial killings of suspected drug runners, many from Venezuela, in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. As The New York Times reported, the administration is justifying these strikes by claiming that America is in a state of armed conflict with drug cartels. Now the administration seems ready to expand this armed conflict into Venezuela."

The United States formally designated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his government allies as members of a foreign terrorist organization labeled Cartel de los Soles. Phil Gunson, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, described Cartel de los Soles as a decades-old pejorative term for corrupt armed forces figures who take money from drug traffickers. The designation risks real-world consequences by framing Maduro as a terrorist and justifying potential aggressive action. The administration has carried out extrajudicial killings of suspected drug runners at sea and claims the U.S. is in armed conflict with cartels. A major U.S. naval buildup in the region raises fears of conflict expansion into Venezuela.

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