Nov. 24 (UPI) -- The United States officially designated Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization Monday, allowing the White House more authority to impose sanctions.
The Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, is a decentralized network of government and military officials in Venezuela who engage in drug trafficking. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the designation on the Federal Register. It was posted Monday, but dated Nov. 16.
Last week, Rubio said in a statement, "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."
The President Donald Trump administration has boosted tensions in Central and South America. On Feb. 20, he named eight cartels as terrorist organizations and designated them global terrorists.
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