The United States will designate Venezuela

The United States is preparing to designate the Venezuela-based Cartel of the Suns as a foreign terrorist organization, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Sunday night, hours after the country’s most advanced aircraft carrier crossed into the Caribbean Sea, the US Navy said.

Rubio’s announcement and the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford mark an important moment in what the Trump administration says is an anti-drug operation but has been seen as an increasing pressure tactic against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The designation of the Cartel of the Suns as a foreign terrorist organization will take effect on November 24, Rubio said in a statement. He alleged that the cartel is led by Maduro and “other high-ranking individuals from the illegitimate Maduro regime who have corrupted Venezuela’s military, intelligence, legislature and judiciary.”

“Neither Maduro nor his cronies represent the legitimate government of Venezuela,” Rubio added. “The Cartel of the Suns, by and with other designated FTOs, including the Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, are responsible for terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere, as well as drug trafficking to the United States and Europe.”

The United States has claimed that Maduro is complicit in armed criminal gangs that traffic drugs into the United States, accusations that Maduro has rejected. And over the past two months, the US military has carried out attacks against at least 22 ships alleges that they transported drugs from South America to the United States, killing at least 83 people.

“Through unwavering commitment and the precise use of our forces, we are ready to combat transnational threats that seek to destabilize our region,” Admiral Alvin Holsey, commander of the US Southern Command, said Sunday in a statement announcing the arrival of the USS Ford to the Caribbean Sea.

“The deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group represents a critical step in reinforcing our resolve to protect the security of the Western Hemisphere and the security of the American Homeland,” he added. The Southern Command is the main combatant unit for operations in the Caribbean and South America.

the ford complete the largest accumulation of American firepower in the region in generations, in what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has called Operation Southern Spear. The Ford carrier strike group, which includes squadrons of fighter jets and guided missile destroyers, transited the Anegada Passage near the British Virgin Islands on Sunday morning, the Navy said.

Rear Admiral Paul Lanzilotta, who commands the Ford carrier strike group, said he will bolster an already large force of U.S. warships to “protect our nation’s security and prosperity against narcoterrorism in the Western Hemisphere.”

The administration has insisted that the buildup of warships is focused on stopping the flow of drugs into the United States, but has not released any evidence to support its claims that those killed on the ships were “narcoterrorists.”

President Trump said Friday that “In a way” he has decided how to proceed with Venezuela.as senior officials weigh possible military operations in the Latin American country. “I’ve already made a decision” about the administration’s next steps in Venezuela, he told News themezone aboard Air Force One, but “I can’t tell you what they would be.”

Senior Trump administration officials, military and senior personnel met at the White House for at least the third day in a row on Friday to discuss possible military operations in Venezuela, according to sources familiar with the matter. Vice President JD Vance, Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were among those who spoke with Trump at the White House on Friday, the sources said.

Venezuela was also discussed as part of the president’s daily intelligence briefing on Wednesday. News themezone has previously reported Hegseth, Caine and other military officials presented Trump on Wednesday with options for possible operations in Venezuela in the coming days, including possible ground strikes.

Meanwhile, Venezuela announced on Tuesday that it was Launch of a massive military exercise. throughout the country, in which some 200,000 forces supposedly participated.

Many people inside Venezuela, including Maduro himself, and observers outside the country believe that increased US military pressure is aimed at forcing Maduro out of office.

When asked In a recent interview with “60 Minutes” if Maduro’s “days were numbered,” Trump responded: “I would say yes. I think so.” Mr. Trump last month also confirmed who had authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela.

The president has justified attacks on drug ships by saying that the United States is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels, while claiming that the ships are operated by foreign terrorist organizations. He has faced rejection from leaders in the regionhe UN human rights chief and lawmakers, including some Republicans, who have pushed for more information about who is being targeted and the legal justification for the attacks on ships.

Senate Republicans recently voted to reject the legislation That would have put a brake on Trump’s ability to launch an attack against Venezuela without authorization from Congress. Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the only Republicans to support the resolution, which failed in a 49-51 vote.

Experts disagree on whether US warplanes can be used to attack ground targets inside Venezuela. Either way, the 100,000-ton warship is sending a message, one expert said.

“This is the anchor of what it means to have U.S. military power again in Latin America,” Elizabeth Dickinson, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for the Andes region, told The News. “And it has generated a lot of anxiety in Venezuela, but also throughout the region. I think everyone is watching this with bated breath to see how willing the United States is to actually use military force.”