US takes one more step towards military conflict with Venezuela

The United States has taken yet another step towards an armed conflict with Venezuela by designating the Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization, The New York Times writes.

“No one knows if we’re about to start bombing Venezuela, but the administration’s demagogy about the Cartel de los Soles is just one of many alarming signs,” the paper notes. “For months now, the United States has been committing extrajudicial killings of suspected drug runners, justifying these strikes by claiming that America is in a state of armed conflict with drug cartels. Now the administration seems ready to expand this armed conflict into Venezuela,” The New York Times added.

The newspaper points to Washington’s “biggest military buildup in the Caribbean since the Cuban missile crisis,” adding that “airlines are canceling flights because of a Federal Aviation Administration warning of a worsening security situation.”

According to the paper, “the Trump camp hoped its pressure campaign” would lead to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro fleeing or being overthrown, but it did not happen.

The move to designate the Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization “could have real-world consequences” for Maduro as the US may decide to hunt him down like Osama bin Laden, the late leader of the Al Qaeda terrorist group (outlawed in Russia).

Earlier, the Venezuelan authorities slammed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s decision to designate the Cartel de los Soles, which Caracas says does not exist, as a terrorist organization.

According to Caracas, the move was aimed “at justifying an illegal and illegitimate intervention against Venezuela in the classic American style of regime change.” The US claims that the organisation is linked to the Venezuelan military, while the cartel is led by Maduro himself.

Washington accuses Venezuela of not doing enough to fight drug smuggling. The US Navy has deployed eight ships, one nuclear submarine, over 16,000 troops in the Caribbean, and since September has destroyed at least 20 high-speed boats in international waters, killing 76 people.

The American media has repeatedly reported that the United States may soon strike drug cartel targets in Venezuela.