US to designate Venezuela's Cartel de los Soles as terrorists

It is the Trump administration's latest effort to reduce drug trafficking and put pressure on Maduro, as the US considers whether to take military action inside the country.

It means that Maduro will effectively be designated a terrorist as well, because the US alleges he heads the Cartel de los Soles, an accusation Maduro strongly denies.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a statement on Sunday announcing that the group will be considered a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) from 24 November.

Cartel de los Soles, a group the US alleges is led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, will be designated a terrorist organisation, the US State Department has said.

An FTO designation allows the US government to crackdown more aggressively on the group and its alleged associates, by making it illegal to knowingly offer them support.

The US Treasury Department has previously placed sanctions on Cartel de los Soles, but the new FTO designation is an escalated approach which unlocks stronger powers.

The Cartel de los Soles is a term used by the US to describe an alleged criminal group involved in activities such as drug-trafficking and illegal mining.

Washington claims it is led by the Venezuelan president and includes members of his inner circle, including from the military. The US hasn't published evidence publicly of Maduro's direct involvement in drug trafficking.

But its characterisation of Maduro as a drug-trafficker is seen as a way for the US to possibly justify targeting him or those close to him personally as part of its military campaign against alleged drug-trafficking.

Speculation is mounting about whether the US may strike land targets inside Venezuela as part of efforts to put pressure on Maduro.

In October, Maduro accused the US of "fabricating a new war", after it ordered the USS Gerald Ford to be sent to the Caribbean.

US President Donald Trump has said he has "sort of" made up his mind about what to do but has not announced his decision yet.

He told reporters on Sunday night that he asked Rubio to discuss the situation with Congress.

He added that "we may be having some discussions" with Maduro and that "Venezuela wants to talk", but did not provide further details on when talks might happen.

The Trump administration has taken an aggressive approach toward Maduro, who returned to office in January following allegations of vote-rigging.

"Neither Maduro nor his cronies represent Venezuela's legitimate government," Rubio said in his statement.

In August, the US government increased a reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest to $50m (£37.2m), alleging he was a leading "narco-trafficker".

The US has also criticised Venezuela as inadequately addressing cartel activity, which Trump says is responsible for an influx of fentanyl into the US.

Experts say Venezuela is a not a significant producer of fentanyl.

Since September, the US has carried out a series of airstrikes on boats off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia.

The US has sent the largest military deployment to the Caribbean in decades and has carried out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels, killing at least 83 people.

The administration has previously designated cartels in other countries as terrorist groups.

The oil pipeline feud testing Canada's global ambitions

2 hours ago Share Save Nadine Yousif Senior Canada reporter Share Save

Getty Images British Columbia Premier David Eby has dismissed Alberta's hopes of building a pipeline through his province to the Pacific. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has called him "un-Canadian"

As Canada looks to untangle itself economically from the US, the country's landlocked oil patch is eyeing new customers in Asia through a pipeline to the Pacific. Not everyone is on board. The oil-rich province of Alberta has had one demand for Prime Minister Mark Carney: Help us build an oil pipeline — and fast. It's no small task — in fact, some argue it has become near-impossible to build a pipeline in Canada because of laws designed to bolster environmental protections. Three oil pipelines have died on the vine in the past decade over fierce opposition. But Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is not deterred. Her conservative government has taken the unusual step of drafting its own proposal for a pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to British Columbia's northern Pacific coast, aimed at reaching Asian markets. Still in the early stages, Smith hopes that by doing the groundwork a private company will eventually take over and build it. Neighbouring British Columbia, however, is firmly against it. Premier David Eby, with the left-leaning NDP, has dismissed Smith's plan as "fictional" and "political", arguing no company wants the burden of taking it on. He also accused Smith of jeopardising his own province's ambitions to expand liquified natural gas (LNG) exports to Asia. Smith in turn, has called him "un-Canadian". The feud between the Western provinces comes at a critical time. Canada is trying to wean itself off its economic dependence on the US amid President Donald Trump's tariffs, and Carney has signalled his desire to double non-US exports in the next decade. That includes positioning Canada as a global "energy superpower". Almost all of its energy exports, including crude oil, are currently sold to the US. On Thursday, Carney unveiled new "nation-building projects" he says are key to Canada's growth. The list did not include a pipeline, but does include critical minerals mines and an LNG project in BC. With Canada home to one of the world's largest oil reserves, Carney is now facing questions from Albertans over whether he can achieve his goals without first solving the internal rifts. "It is the perennial problem," said Heather Exner-Pirot, director of natural resources, energy and the environment at the MacDonald-Laurier Institute think tank, and who is based in Calgary, Alberta. "It is unfortunately the main wedge issue in Canadian politics it seems like, and trust me when I say no one in Alberta wishes that their oil was the wedge issue in this country."

Bloomberg via Getty Images British Columbia has been pursuing LNG exports to Asia, though some of those projects are also opposed by climate groups and some First Nations.

Asked about the divides on Thursday, Carney said the federal government and the provinces "need to talk to each other". "We need to see where we can cooperate and build things, and we need to acknowledge where we can't." Separately, Carney has hinted that he wants to see another pipeline built: Keystone XL to the US. Sources have told the BBC that reviving the project was raised during the prime minister's last face-to-face meeting with Trump in October, before the US president halted trade talks with Canada over an anti-tariff ad. For Ms Exner-Pirot, the suggestion of Keystone XL may signal a resignation that the rift between BC and Alberta won't be resolved. "At the end of the day, it still looks like it's going to be easier to negotiate a new pipeline with the Americans than with British Columbia."

Carney has avoided siding with either province but has signalled his openness to a pipeline if Alberta can commit to also developing its carbon capture and storage programme. He said discussions "are going well". In a statement to the BBC, Smith's office said it is "working to address" Premier Eby's concerns. But it said it expects Carney's government to support their project. "We have to decide if we are going to operate like a country and trade with each other, tear down internal trade barriers and stop blocking each other's projects and opportunities to trade with the rest of the world," Smith's spokesperson, Sam Blackett, said in an email. The BBC contacted Premier Eby's office for comment, who pointed to remarks the BC leader made to reporters on Thursday. "There is no route, there is no proponent, there is no project," he said, adding he remains "frustrated that this appears to be an ongoing issue for Premier Smith".

Bloomberg via Getty Images Canada is home to one of the largest oil reserves in the world, the bulk of which are in Alberta. It exported an average of 4.2 million barrels a day in 2024.

'Real grounds for dispute'

The disagreement between BC and Alberta is part of a longstanding clash that successive federal governments have struggled to smooth over. British Columbia is historically home to Canada's environmental movement – it's the birthplace of Greenpeace, one of the world's largest climate organisations. Alberta's main export by far is crude petroleum, and it has long defended its oil and gas industry as vital to Canada's economic growth. "There are real grounds for a dispute," said Andrew Leach, a Canadian energy economist at the University of Alberta. "The lion's share of the gains and the benefits accrue to Alberta, while the lion's share of generational risks occur in BC." It was opposition in British Columbia that led to the cancellation of Enbridge's Alberta to BC Northern Gateway pipeline project. It was scrapped in 2016 after courts ruled that indigenous communities were not properly consulted. Enbridge said it spent more than C$370m ($263m; £200m) on the failed project. Asked about Alberta's new proposal, Enbridge spokesperson Gina Sutherland told the BBC that the federal government needs to improve its regulatory policies "before any new large energy projects would be considered". Alberta says those policies, including an oil tanker ban off the coast of BC, which both Premier Eby and BC indigenous leaders want to keep in place, are hindering energy development. The sole oil pipeline running from Alberta to BC, TransMountain (TMX), was also strongly opposed and only finished after the federal government purchased it for C$4.5bn in 2018 to ensure its completion. The total cost for the project was C$35bn. TMX is estimated to have since generated more than C$12.6bn in oil revenue for Canada, according to a report by Alberta Central, and has helped non-US crude oil exports jump sixfold in the last year. An October poll from the Angus Reid Institute shows a majority of Canadians (59%) support the idea of a second Alberta-BC pipeline, including 56% of BC residents.

Getty Images In 2012, protests against the Northern Gateway pipeline in British Columbia drew thousands.

Japan tourism and retail stocks slide after row with China over Taiwan

10 minutes ago Share Save Osmond Chia Business reporter Share Save

AFP via Getty Images

Japanese tourism and retail stocks fell on Monday after China warned its citizens not to travel to the country as Tokyo and Beijing remain locked in a row over Taiwan. Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who has been a vocal critic of China and its military activities in the region, suggested this month Tokyo could take military action if Beijing attacked Taiwan. Shares in cosmetics company Shiseido plunged nearly 10% while department store chain Takashimaya and the owner of global fashion chain Uniqlo fell more than 5% in early trading. China has consistently ranked among the top sources of tourists visiting Japan.

New York Jets player in critical condition after Manhattan shooting

Kris Boyd played for the Houston Texans before joining the New York Jets this year

Kris Boyd, a cornerback for American football team the New York Jets, was shot in the abdomen early Sunday, according to US media.

The 29-year-old is in critical condition at the hospital, the New York Police Department told CBS News, the BBC's US partner. The NYPD did not name Boyd as the victim, but a spokesperson for the Jets confirmed to the BBC that Boyd had been shot.

At around 02:00 local time (07:00 GMT) on Sunday morning, police received a 911 call about a shooting in midtown Manhattan. Police responded to a location outside a high-end restaurant called Sei Less.

An investigation is still underway and police do not have a suspect in custody, the NYPD told CBS.