By Amjad Qaimkhani
WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday designated Colombia’s largest drug-trafficking gang, Clan del Golfo, as a terrorist organization, just as the group was engaged in talks with the country’s leftist government.
The move coincided with President Donald Trump’s administration carrying out controversial strikes at sea targeting suspected drug traffickers on vessels near Venezuela. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Clan del Golfo would be classified as both a foreign terrorist organization and a specially designated global terrorist group, meaning any US support for the gang would constitute a crime.
“The United States will continue to use all available tools to protect our nation and stop the campaigns of violence and terror committed by international cartels and transnational criminal organizations,” Rubio said in a statement. “We are committed to denying funding and resources to these terrorists.”
