(MENAFN) The United States will officially list the Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Sunday. The designation will take effect on Nov. 24.

“Cartel de los Soles, along with other designated FTOs including Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel, are responsible for terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere as well as trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe,” Rubio said. He accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his senior officials of leading the group, asserting they do not “represent Venezuela’s legitimate government.”

Rubio emphasized that the US will continue employing all available tools to protect national security and cut off funding and resources to narco-terrorists. Earlier this year, the State Department had designated several Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, providing broader legal authority for intelligence and covert operations.

President Donald Trump has intensified strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean that US officials allege are transporting drugs to the United States. He has also threatened action against Maduro, whom he accuses of facilitating drug trafficking. The US has expanded military operations across Latin America, deploying Marines, warships, fighter and bomber jets, submarines, and drones, including the arrival of the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier in the Caribbean.

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