US representative to the UN: 'Maduro is a fugitive from American justice and the head of the Foreign Terrorist Organization Cartel de Los Soles'

The United States representative to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, launched one of Washington's most forceful accusations against the Venezuelan regime this Tuesday when he declared before the U.N. Security Council that the dictator Nicolás Maduro "is a fugitive from American justice and the head of the Foreign Terrorist Organization Cartel de Los Soles."

During his intervention in a session dedicated to the situation in Venezuela and the U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean, Waltz reiterated that the United States does not recognize Maduro or his entourage as the legitimate government of the South American country, and assured that the regime "stole the elections" of July 28, 2024.

Waltz recalled that the international community has evidence of such fraud.

The diplomat also maintained that President Donald Trump is determined to use "all the power and force of the United States" to eradicate the drug cartels operating in the Western Hemisphere, which he described as the main threat to regional security and to U.S. territory itself. The United States has declared Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles, both linked to Maduro and his entourage, as terrorist organizations.

"President Trump has been very clear that he is going to use the full power of the United States of America, the full might of the United States, to take on and eradicate these drug cartels, which have operated with impunity in our hemisphere for far too long – and everyone knows it," he said.

Waltz described these organizations as highly sophisticated, well-financed structures with advanced technical capabilities, very different from traditional criminal groups. For this reason, he cited the U.N.'s World Drug Report 2025, which identifies Venezuela as the main drug trafficking route in the entire Western Hemisphere, both to the United States and Europe.

The U.S. representative, in turn, explained that Washington will impose and enforce sanctions "to the fullest extent" to cut off sources of financing for the Maduro regime, including revenues from oil sales, used to sustain the Cartel de los Soles and the Tren de Aragua.

Waltz also accused the Maduro regime of openly collaborating with international terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, as well as Colombian guerrilla militias such as ELN and FARC, allowing them to operate within Venezuelan territory without restrictions.

"Sanctions are useless if they are not enforced," Waltz warned, noting that the United States is already moving to impose them even in international waters.

"The United States will impose and enforce sanctions to the maximum extent to deprive Maduro of the resources he uses to fund Cartel de Los Soles, which the United States has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization along with Tren de Aragua. Important to this Council meeting today, this includes profits from the sale of oil used to finance these cartels (...) The reality of the situation is that sanctioned oil tankers operate as the primary economic lifeline for Maduro and his illegitimate regime. These sanctioned tankers also fund also fund the narco-terrorist group Cartel de Los Soles. Maduro is responsible for trafficking – using these resources, and using these profits – into both the United States and Europe (...) Maduro’s ability to sell Venezuela’s oil enables his fraudulent claim to power and his narco-terrorist activities. The people of Venezuela frankly deserve better. These people who have suffered under Maduro’s socialist dictatorship."

The diplomat concluded by stating that the actions of the Maduro regime represent an extraordinary threat to the peace and stability of the hemisphere, and assured that Washington will do everything in its power to protect its borders, its security and the American people.