Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

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.

Regardless of the reality, the US claims that Maduro is the leader of the Cartel of the Suns, signaling it will use the terror designation as a pretext to target him. Trump was asked if the designation could justify the US targeting Maduro’s assets or infrastructure inside Venezuela, and claimed that it “allows us to do that,” though any military action without congressional authorization would be illegal under the Constitution. Trump then suggested that the US and Venezuela are talking.

“It allows us to do that, but I haven’t said we’re going to do that, and we may be having some discussions with Maduro, and we’ll see how that turns out, but they would like to talk,” he told reporters.

Maduro has made clear that he’s willing to reach some kind of deal with the US and sent a letter to Trump after the US began bombing alleged drug-running boats in the region. In the letter, the Venezuelan leader urged for diplomacy to resolve any issues and said he was ready to talk to Trump’s special envoy, Ric Grennel, at any time.

The New York Times reported in early October that Trump called off diplomacy with Venezuela, though another Times report on Friday cited an administration official who said the talks with Venezuela were “not entirely dead.” Officials say the arrival of the US aircraft carrier Gerald Ford is meant to be used as leverage over Maduro, but it’s unclear what sort of deal would satisfy the US.

Trump has reportedly been briefed in recent days on options to bomb Venezuela, and the US strikes on boats in the region have continued, killing at least 82 people since the bombing campaign began in early September.