U.S. Sends Several Aircraft Close To Venezuela's Shores As Deadline To Designate Cartel De Los Soles As Terrorist Organization Nears

The U.S. again sent several aircraft off the coast of Venezuela as the day in which the Trump administration will officially designate the Cartel de los Soles, which it accuses authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro and other top officials of leading, as a terrorist organization. Concretely, five aircraft were spotted in the vicinity of the country.

The Trump administration routinely conducts such flights off the coast of Venezuela. Earlier this month, local outlet Monitoreamos noted that the U.S. flew two strategic B-52H Stratofortress planes identified as TITO41 and TITO42.

A week earlier, the U.S. sent B-1B bombers close to the country, turning off transponders while flying over the Caribbean and then turned them on again as they got closer to the Venezuelan shores. The B-1B is a supersonic heavy bomber capable of carrying cruise missiles and precision-guided munitions.

As the deadline for the designation approaches, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the development would bring "a whole bunch of new options to the United States" to target the regime.

The Department of State said in a statement that the designation will go into effect on November 24, adding that the organization is "headed by Nicolás Maduro and other high-ranking individuals of the illegitimate Maduro regime who have corrupted Venezuela's military, intelligence, legislature, and judiciary."

"Neither Maduro nor his cronies represent Venezuela's legitimate government. 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 release adds. Maduro has denied any involvement.

Caracas, in turn, is showing defiance. On Wednesday, Maduro said "heavy weaponry and missiles" had been deployed in a key part of the country.

Maduro said the deployment is part of a "comprehensive defense plan" and fortifies the corridor between Caracas and the coastal state of La Guaira.

He showed the area in a map during a televised address, noting that the plan detailed how the regime intends to defend the population from external threats "street by street, community by community, weapon by weapon, weapons system by weapons system."