ISTANBUL

The US intends to designate the Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Sunday.

“Cartel de los Soles by and with other designated FTOs including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel are responsible for terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere as well as for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe,” Rubio said in a press statement on the decision, which will take effect on Nov. 24.

Accusing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his senior officials of leading the group, he said they did not “represent Venezuela’s legitimate government.”

“The United States will continue using all available tools to protect our national security interests and deny funding and resources to narco-terrorists,” he added.

The US State Department had previously designated several Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations in February, granting intelligence agencies broader legal authority to conduct covert operations.

US President Donald Trump has continued to carry out strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean that he and his senior officials allege are involved in transporting drugs to the US. Trump has also threatened action against President Maduro, accusing him of involvement in drug trafficking.

Trump has for months been expanding US military operations across Latin America, deploying Marines, warships, fighter and bomber jets, submarines and drones. The USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier has reportedly arrived in the Caribbean as part of this buildup.