President Donald Trump’s administration added the “cartel”, which it asserts is linked to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, to the list on Monday, according to a notice published in the Federal Register.

 However, the entity is not actually a cartel, but rather a common reference to military officers and officials involved in corruption and other illegal activities. In a statement responding to the move, Venezuela’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the action was a “ridiculous lie” used to justify future military intervention.

 “Venezuela categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejects the new and ridiculous lie from the Secretary of the Department of State, Marco Rubio, who designates the alleged Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization… to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela,” it said.    

 The US designation, which comes amid a huge military buildup in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela by the US, could offer legal cover to potential direct military action. Trump is reportedly mulling the next step in his campaign against the South American country. A strike on Venezuelan territory would constitute a major escalation of the months-long US operation in the region, which has seen more than 80 people killed in strikes on boats accused of trafficking drugs.

 UN officials and scholars of international law have said that the strikes are in clear violation of US and international law and amount to extrajudicial executions. Washington is poised to launch a new phase of operations in the coming days, unnamed US officials told the Reuters news agency.

 The report said the exact timing and scope of the new operations, and whether Trump had made a final decision to act, was unclear. A senior administration official said they would not rule anything out regarding Venezuela. Two of the officials said covert operations would likely be the first part of a new action against Maduro, with options under consideration including an attempt to overthrow the longstanding Venezuelan leader. (Aljazeera)