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OPINION:
President Trump has just made history. He has ordered the Pentagon to treat certain Latin American drug cartels, including Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles, as foreign terrorist organizations and to engage them with U.S. military force.
With this order, Title 10 authorities (the legal powers for the U.S. armed forces to conduct combat operations) and Title 50 authorities (the intelligence community’s legal powers for covert and clandestine actions) are now in play. This rare combination gives Washington maximum flexibility to act. Translation: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s narco-military syndicate is now in the same crosshairs as the Islamic State group and al Qaeda.
There’s more. The U.S. has doubled the reward for Mr. Maduro’s capture to $50 million, the largest bounty ever placed on a foreign leader. That’s not a diplomatic gesture; it’s a global “Wanted” poster backed by the full weight of the United States.
Why such drastic moves? Because Mr. Maduro’s regime isn’t just corrupt; it’s also a cartel. The Cartel de los Soles, now officially a specially designated global terrorist organization, runs Venezuela’s military as a drug trafficking empire. Every soldier swears personal loyalty to Mr. Maduro, not the constitution, a system lifted straight from the Nazi playbook. Mr. Maduro’s sham elections are camouflage for a state built on cocaine, corruption and coercion.
For years, Washington tried sanctions, negotiations and pressure campaigns. Those days are over. With bipartisan backing in Congress and a Pentagon mission to dismantle narco-terrorist networks, the U.S. has crossed into a new phase: active pursuit and destruction of the regime’s criminal machinery.
The stakes extend far beyond Caracas. Fentanyl, organized crime and cartel violence spill into U.S. streets from the networks Mr. Maduro protects. Stopping him is no longer about foreign policy; it’s about American security.
When the regime collapses, and it will, Venezuela’s oil, gas and mineral wealth can fund its own recovery. However, rebuilding a real republic will require a steady U.S. hand and the political will to see it through.
The gloves are off. The hunt is on. And the clock is ticking.
• Ignacio De Leon is the director of the Venezuelan American Patriots Foundation and the author of “From Pablo Escobar to the Tren de Aragua” (2025).
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