HUNT VALLEY, Md. (TNND) — The U.S. is ready to launch more operations against Venezuela this week, Reuters reported on Saturday.
Two American officials told the news outlet that secret operations against President Nicolás Maduro would take place first.
One senior Trump administration official told The National News Desk (TNND) on Monday that “President Trump is prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice.”
Trump announced last month that he authorized the CIA, which hasn’t responded to TNND’s request for comment, to carry out operations in Venezuela. He claimed that Maduro has allowed prisoners and drugs to flow into the U.S., an accusation the Venezuelan president denies.
The State Department also said last week that it was designating a cartel allegedly headed by Maduro and other high-ranking members of his administration as a terrorist organization. The Cartel de los Soles, which is reportedly a decentralized group of crooked officials, has “corrupted” Venezuela’s legislature, judiciary, military and intelligence, U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio said.
Venezuela “categorically, firmly, and absolutely” rejected the designation, claiming it was a new and “ridiculous” lie. Cartel de los Soles doesn’t exist, Foreign Minister Yván Gil Pinto said in a statement, adding that the U.S. is trying to justify removing Maduro from power.
The Trump administration has tried to pressure Maduro into stepping down, including by offering a $50 million reward for information leading to his capture. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth explained to reporters on Thursday that designating Cartel de los Soles gives the Trump administration a “whole bunch of new options” for how it addresses drug trafficking issues, according to a transcript of his remarks.
“[The terrorist designation] gives more tools to our department to give options to [Trump] to ultimately say our hemisphere will not be controlled by narco-terrorists, it will not be controlled by cartels, it will not be controlled by what illegitimate regimes try to push toward the American people,” Hegeth’s office quoted him as saying.
“So, it’s just about options, and we plan better than any organization in the world here.”
Gil added in his statement that the U.S.’s action will “meet the same fate as previous and recurring aggressions against our country: failure.”
Maduro has authoritarian tendencies and declared victory in Venezuela’s 2024 election, which the U.S. and many other countries believe he lost. His term will last until 2031.
Have questions, concerns or tips? Send them to Ray at rjlewis@sbgtv.com.