Rubio rips Venezuela's Maduro as 'narco-terrorist' leader threatening US one year after disputed election

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hammering Venezuelan dictator Nicol s Maduro on Sunday as the South American country holds municipal elections to fill hundreds of mayoral positions and thousands of council seats The municipal contests are happening one day before the one-year anniversary of Venezuela's presidential referendum which was widely condemned by the United States and other international observers as illegitimate The Trump administration meanwhile has been escalating pressure against Maduro in latest days as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Friday accused the foreign head of state of being the leader of an entity aiding terrorism against the U S One year since dictator Nicol s Maduro defied the will of the Venezuelan people by baselessly declaring himself the winner the United States remains firm in its unwavering help to Venezuela s restoration of democratic order and justice Rubio disclosed in a declaration on Sunday Maduro is not the President of Venezuela and his regime is not the legitimate establishment TRUMP FOE BOASBERG ORDERS DOJ TO DETAIL STATUS OF CECOT SETTLERS SENT TO VENEZUELA Maduro is the leader of the designated narco-terrorist organization Cartel de Los Soles and he is responsible for trafficking drugs into the United States and Europe Rubio continued Maduro at the moment indicted by our nation has corrupted Venezuela s institutions to assist the cartel s criminal narco-trafficking scheme into the United States The Justice Department charged Maduro and other former and current Venezuelan agents with narco-terrorism corruption drug trafficking and other criminal charges in March At the start of this year days before President Donald Trump returned to office the State Department increased its reward for information leading to Maduro's capture from million to up to million For years Maduro and his cronies have manipulated Venezuela s electoral system to maintain their illegitimate grip on power Rubio added on Sunday By scheduling the municipal elections on the eve of the anniversary of the stolen July presidential poll the regime once again aims to deploy the military and police to suppress the will of the Venezuelan people The United States will continue working with our partners to hold accountable the corrupt criminal and illegitimate Maduro regime Those who steal elections and use force to grasp power undermine America s national assurance interests Rubio declared Maduro became the Venezuelan president in but the U S has not recognized his presidency since The U S and other countries have refused to recognize Maduro as the winner of the July Venezuelan vote citing widespread fraud VENEZUELAN OPPOSITION MEMBER DETAILS HARROWING -DAY CAPTIVITY AT UNThe Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned the Cartel de los Soles also known as Cartel of the Suns as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist The U S alleges that Cartel de los Soles is headed by Maduro and other Venezuelan high-ranking individuals in his regime who corrupted the institutions of cabinet in Venezuela including parts of the military intelligence apparatus legislature and the judiciary to assist the cartel s endeavors of trafficking narcotics into the United States The U S states the Venezuela-based group provides material patronage to Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel The Trump administration classified Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel as foreign terrorist organizations in February According to the Treasury Department the name Cartel de los Soles is derived from the sun insignias often portrayed on the uniforms of Venezuelan military bureaucrats The cartel supports Tren de Aragua in carrying out its objective of using the flood of illegal narcotics as a weapon against the United States according to the Treasury Department Bessent announced on Friday that the new action exposes the illegitimate Maduro regime s facilitation of narco-terrorism through terrorist groups like Cartel de los Soles The Treasury Department will continue to execute on President Trump s pledge to put America First by cracking down on violent organizations including Tren de Aragua the Sinaloa Cartel and their facilitators like Cartel de los Soles he added