Trump Says US ‘May Be Having Discussions’ With Venezuela’s Maduro

President Trump said on Sunday that the US “may be having discussions” with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, suggesting his administration has not entirely cut off diplomacy with Caracas as previous reports have said.

Trump made the comments when asked about Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement that the State Department would be designating the so-called Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” though the group doesn’t actually exist.

The term “Cartel of the Suns” was first used in the 1990s, before Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez, came to power, to describe two Venezuelan military generals with sun insignias on their uniforms who were involved in the drug trade. One of the generals was working with the CIA at the time, according to a 1993 60 Minutes report.

Today, the term is used to describe Venezuelan military and government officials who allegedly profit from drug trafficking, but the Cartel of the Suns doesn’t exist as a structured organization.