US military has new options to pursue group tied to Venezuela's Maduro — Hegseth

President Donald Trump's decision to designate an alleged drug cartel that the US links to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro as a terrorist group provides the Pentagon with a range of new options, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has said.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US would designate the Cartel de los Soles (or Cartel of the Suns) a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), which makes it a crime for anyone in the US to provide material support to the group.

Hegseth spoke with One America News and, in excerpts released on Thursday, was quoted as saying the designation "brings a whole bunch of new options to the United States."

Hegseth claimed Maduro is "not a legitimately elected leader of Venezuela" and repeated accusations that Maduro is involved in drug trafficking.

Maduro has denied such involvement.

It is unclear when the interview took place, but it will air on Thursday.

US officials have accused Cartel de los Soles of working with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which Washington previously designated as FTO, to send illegal narcotics to the US.

The Trump administration has alleged that Maduro leads Cartel de los Soles, which Maduro denies. Washington in August doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest to $50 million.

Military build-up near Venezuela

The designation will take effect on Monday.

Experts, however, say Cartel de los Soles is the phrase coined in 1990 by some local Venezuelan journalists to describe some "corrupt" military officials and argue that it is a non-existent drug cartel.

Venezuela's President Maduro denies US claims about the Cartel de los Soles, calling it a fabrication used for manipulation. But his critics argue against downplaying it.

Venezuelan opposition figures Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia and Maria Corina Machado have been seeking US classification of Cartel de los Soles as a terror group.

Asked if the designation means the US could strike Maduro's assets and infrastructure in Venezuela, Trump has said: "It allows us to do that, but we haven't said we're going to do that."

Trump has also said he may be open to talks with Maduro.

The move comes amid a massive military buildup in the region, including the US Navy's largest aircraft carrier, at least eight other warships, and F-35 aircraft.

US forces in the region have carried out at least 21 strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing at least 83 people.

Human rights groups have condemned the strikes as illegal extrajudicial killings of civilians, and some US allies have expressed growing concerns that Washington may be violating international law.

Maduro has repeatedly alleged the US buildup is designed to topple his government and install pro-US rulers.