Sen. Rubio seeks foreign terrorist, criminal organization designations

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) forwarded correspondence last week to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin seeking specific Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Transnational Criminal Organization (TCO) designations.

In his letter, Rubio, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights and Global Women’s Issues, requested the armed irregular militia groups (colectivos) be deemed FTOs while the Maduro regime be categorized as a TCO.

“Given that the United States and over 50 other nations now recognize Interim President Juan Guaidó, and therefore no longer recognize the regime of Nicolás Maduro as the official Government of Venezuela, it is time for the Executive Branch to take important and necessary steps to further isolate Maduro and make clear to the world his regime’s illegality, criminality and depravity,” Rubio wrote. “I urge the Executive Branch to impose sanctions against the Maduro regime for its material support of terrorism; to designate the regime, as well as the estimated hundreds of armed irregular militia groups (colectivos armados) that it controls.”

Rubio outlined the Maduro regime’s links to U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the National Liberation Army, and the Basque Fatherland and Liberty and its support of Hizballah sympathizers.