BREAKING: Maduro-linked Cartel de los Soles set for foreign terrorist designation, Rubio announces

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday he intends to designate Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, pointing directly at Nicolas Maduro and accusing his regime of using state power to aid drug trafficking and violent operations tied to other extremist networks.

Rubio said the group, “headed by the illegitimate Nicolás Maduro,” has corrupted Venezuela’s government institutions and is responsible for “terrorist violence conducted by and with other designated FTOs.” The designation would carry major legal consequences, including criminal penalties for anyone supporting the cartel and financial restrictions on its assets.

The announcement comes just as tensions in the Caribbean have jumped again. Venezuela launched a large-scale military operation this week, claiming it is responding to an “imperialist threat” from US forces. Several cartel-linked ships have recently been destroyed by drones, and Caracas says Washington is trying to destabilize the Maduro government something the Pentagon denies, although the region is definitely more crowded now.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said the nationwide drills were ordered by Maduro himself and involve land, air, naval, and reserve forces. He said the goal is to “optimize command, control and communications” across the country’s defense network. The Bolivarian Militia, a civilian reserve force created under Hugo Chávez, is also taking part.

The exercises coincide with the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest aircraft carrier in the U.S. fleet, after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth redeployed the strike group from Europe. The Ford is operating with more than 4,000 sailors, two Arleigh Burke–class destroyers, USS Bainbridge and USS Mahan, and the command ship USS Winston S. Churchill.

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