The United States has designated the Cartel de los Soles (Spanish for Cartel of the Suns) - a group it alleges is headed by Venezuela's president, Nicolás Maduro, and senior figures in his government - as a foreign terrorist organisation.
Labelling an organisation as a terrorist group gives US law enforcement and military agencies broader powers to target and dismantle it.
In recent months, the US has been ramping up pressure on Maduro, saying his government is illegitimate following last year's election, which was widely dismissed as rigged. The designation gives it another way to turn up the heat.
But questions have been raised as to whether Cartel de los Soles actually exists and Venezuela's foreign ministry has categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejected the designation, which it describes as a new and ridiculous lie.
Not surprisingly, Venezuela's interior and justice minister, Diosdado Cabello, has long called it an invention.
Cabello, who is alleged to be one of the high-ranking members of the cartel, has accused US officials of using it as an excuse to target those they do not like.
Gustavo Petro, the left-wing president of Venezuela's neighbour, Colombia, has also denied the cartel's existence.
But the US state department is adamant that the Cartel de los Soles not only exists but that it has corrupted Venezuela's military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary.
Experts consulted by the BBC say the truth lies somewhere in between.
