Latest news with #CartelOfTheSuns
CTV News
3 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Mexico discounts risk of ‘invasion' after Trump order to target cartels
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum attends her morning press conference at the National Palace in Mexico City, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte) Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum insisted Friday that there would be 'no invasion of Mexico' following reports that U.S. President Donald Trump had ordered the U.S. military to target Latin American drug cartels. 'There will be no invasion of Mexico,' Sheinbaum declared after The New York Times reported that Trump had secretly signed a directive to use military force against cartels that his administration has declared terrorist organizations. 'We were informed that this executive order was coming and that it had nothing to do with the participation of any military personnel or any institution in our territory,' Sheinbaum told her regular morning conference. The Pentagon referred questions on the issue to the White House, which did not immediately confirm the order. The Times said Trump's order provided an official basis for military operations at sea or on foreign soil against the cartels. In February, his administration designated eight drug trafficking groups as terrorist organizations. Six are Mexican, one is Venezuelan and the eighth originates in El Salvador. Two weeks ago, his administration added another Venezuelan gang, the Cartel of the Suns, which has shipped hundreds of tons of narcotics into the United States over two decades. On Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department doubled to US$50 million its bounty on Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, whom it accuses of leading the Cartel of the Suns. Venezuela has dismissed the allegations, with Foreign Minister Yvan Gil calling it 'the most ridiculous smokescreen we have ever seen.' Sheinbaum has made strenuous efforts to show Trump she is acting against her country's cartels, whom he accuses of flooding the United States with drugs, particularly fentanyl. 'We are cooperating, we are collaborating, but there will be no invasion. That is absolutely ruled out,' she said. She said that in 'every call' with U.S. officials, Mexico insisted that this 'is not permitted.' The 63-year-old has been dubbed the 'Trump whisperer' for repeatedly securing reprieves from his threats of stiff tariffs over the smuggling of drugs and migrants across their shared border. Associated Press
France 24
3 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Trump orders Pentagon to target foreign drug cartels
Trump is moving to target Latin American drug cartels with the military, US media said Friday, after Washington designated several narcotics trafficking groups as "terrorist" organisations earlier this year. The New York Times reported that Trump has directed the Pentagon to begin using military force against cartels that were deemed terrorist organisations, while the Wall Street Journal said the president ordered the Defense Department to prepare options to do so. The Journal said the use of special forces and the provision of intelligence support were among the options under discussion, and that any action would be coordinated with foreign partners. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum insisted following the reports on Friday that there would be "no invasion of Mexico". Trump vowed in March to "wage war" on Mexico's drug cartels, which he accused of rape and murder as well as "posing a grave threat" to national security. The month before, the United States designated Venezuela 's Tren de Aragua, Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and six other drug trafficking groups with Latin American roots as "global terrorist" organisations. Trump's administration has since added another Venezuelan gang, the Cartel of the Suns, which has shipped hundreds of tons of narcotics into the United States over two decades. Trump signed an executive order on January 20, his first day back in the White House, creating a process for such designations, saying the cartels "constitute a national-security threat beyond that posed by traditional organised crime."
France 24
3 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
US increases reward for Venezuelan President Maduro's arrest to $50 million
The US doubled its bounty on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro -- who faces federal drug trafficking charges -- to $50 million on Thursday, a move Caracas described as "pathetic" and "ridiculous". Washington, which does not recognize Maduro's past two election victories, accuses the South American country's leader of leading a cocaine trafficking gang. "Today, the Department of Justice and State Department are announcing a historic $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Nicolas Maduro," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a video on social media. "He is one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security." The previous bounty was set in January at $25 million. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil said Bondi's "pathetic" bounty was "the most ridiculous smokescreen we have ever seen." "The dignity of our homeland is not for sale. We reject this crude political propaganda operation," Gil said on Telegram. In 2020, during President Donald Trump 's first term in office, Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials were indicted in federal court in New York on several charges including participating in a "narco-terrorism" conspiracy. 'Cartel of the Suns' The Justice Department accused Maduro of leading a cocaine trafficking gang called "The Cartel of the Suns" that shipped hundreds of tons of narcotics into the United States over two decades, earning hundreds of millions of dollars. Investigators say the cartel worked hand-in-hand with the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which the United States has labeled a terrorist organization. Bondi said Maduro also had worked with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) "has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates, with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself," Bondi said. The US government has also seized more than $700 million in Maduro-linked assets, including two Venezuelan government aircraft, since September last year, according to Bondi. "Yet Maduro's reign of terror continues," she said. "Under President Trump's leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes." The 62-year-old Maduro, a former bus driver and trade unionist, faces up to life in prison if he can be tried and is convicted. At the time of the indictment, Maduro slammed what he called "spurious, false" accusations. In June, Venezuela's former intelligence chief Hugo Armando Carvajal pleaded guilty to US drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges. The Miami Herald, citing sources familiar with the case, said Carvajal had offered to provide US authorities with documents and testimony implicating Maduro. 'Deeply flawed' Relations between Washington and Caracas have been deteriorating for years. The US government has not recognized Maduro, who first took office in 2013, as the duly elected president of Venezuela since what the State Department has called a "deeply flawed 2018 presidential election." "In the July 28, 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, Maduro fraudulently declared himself the victor despite evidence to the contrary," the State Department said in an announcement of the earlier bounty in January. "The United States joined many other countries in refusing to recognize Maduro as the legitimate winner of the July 2024 presidential election." Washington has placed an array of economic sanctions on Maduro's government. For its part, Maduro's government has long denounced US interference in Venezuela. On Thursday, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello announced that security services had thwarted a bomb attack in a commercial area of the capital Caracas. As Venezuelan authorities often do in such cases, Cabello accused the US and the Venezuelan opposition of instigating the thwarted attack.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
US raises bounty on Venezuela's Maduro to $50 mn
The United States on Thursday doubled its bounty on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro -- who faces federal drug trafficking charges and whose most recent election victory was not recognized by Washington -- to $50 million. "Today, the Department of Justice and State Department are announcing a historic $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Nicolas Maduro," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a video on social media. "He is one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security." The previous bounty was set in January at $25 million. In 2020, during President Donald Trump's first term in office, Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials were indicted in federal court in New York on several charges including participating in a "narco-terrorism" conspiracy. The Justice Department accused Maduro of leading a cocaine trafficking gang called "The Cartel of the Suns" that shipped hundreds of tons of narcotics into the United States over two decades, earning hundreds of millions of dollars. Investigators say the cartel worked hand-in-hand with the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which the United States has labeled a terrorist organization. Bondi said Maduro also had worked with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) "has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates, with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself," Bondi said. The US government has seized more than $700 million in Maduro-linked assets, according to Bondi, including two Venezuelan government aircraft since September last year. "Yet Maduro's reign of terror continues," she said. "Under President Trump's leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes." The 62-year-old Maduro, a former bus driver and trade unionist, faces up to life in prison if he can be tried and is convicted. At the time of the indictment, Maduro slammed what he called "spurious, false" accusations. In June, Venezuela's former intelligence chief Hugo Armando Carvajal pleaded guilty to US drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges. The Miami Herald, citing sources familiar with the case, said Carvajal had offered to provide US authorities with documents and testimony implicating Maduro. - 'Deeply flawed' - Relations between Washington and Caracas have been deteriorating for years. The US government has not recognized Maduro, who first took office in 2013, as the duly elected president of Venezuela since what the State Department has called a "deeply flawed 2018 presidential election." "In the July 28, 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, Maduro fraudulently declared himself the victor despite evidence to the contrary," the State Department said in an announcement of the earlier bounty in January. "The United States joined many other countries in refusing to recognize Maduro as the legitimate winner of the July 2024 presidential election." Washington has placed an array of economic sanctions on Maduro's government.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
US raises bounty on Venezuela's Maduro to $50 mn
The United States on Thursday doubled its bounty on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro -- who faces federal drug trafficking charges and whose most recent election victory was not recognized by Washington -- to $50 million. "Today, the Department of Justice and State Department are announcing a historic $50 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Nicolas Maduro," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a video on social media. "He is one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security." The previous bounty was set in January at $25 million. In 2020, during President Donald Trump's first term in office, Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan officials were indicted in federal court in New York on several charges including participating in a "narco-terrorism" conspiracy. The Justice Department accused Maduro of leading a cocaine trafficking gang called "The Cartel of the Suns" that shipped hundreds of tons of narcotics into the United States over two decades, earning hundreds of millions of dollars. Investigators say the cartel worked hand-in-hand with the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which the United States has labeled a terrorist organization. Bondi said Maduro also had worked with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) "has seized 30 tons of cocaine linked to Maduro and his associates, with nearly seven tons linked to Maduro himself," Bondi said. The US government has seized more than $700 million in Maduro-linked assets, according to Bondi, including two Venezuelan government aircraft since September last year. "Yet Maduro's reign of terror continues," she said. "Under President Trump's leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes." The 62-year-old Maduro, a former bus driver and trade unionist, faces up to life in prison if he can be tried and is convicted. At the time of the indictment, Maduro slammed what he called "spurious, false" accusations. In June, Venezuela's former intelligence chief Hugo Armando Carvajal pleaded guilty to US drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges. The Miami Herald, citing sources familiar with the case, said Carvajal had offered to provide US authorities with documents and testimony implicating Maduro. - 'Deeply flawed' - Relations between Washington and Caracas have been deteriorating for years. The US government has not recognized Maduro, who first took office in 2013, as the duly elected president of Venezuela since what the State Department has called a "deeply flawed 2018 presidential election." "In the July 28, 2024 Venezuelan presidential election, Maduro fraudulently declared himself the victor despite evidence to the contrary," the State Department said in an announcement of the earlier bounty in January. "The United States joined many other countries in refusing to recognize Maduro as the legitimate winner of the July 2024 presidential election." Washington has placed an array of economic sanctions on Maduro's government. sst-nr/ksb
