Guyana has called for strengthened cooperation at the national, regional and global levels to dismantle the Venezuelan-based Cartel de los Soles, which Washington placed on its Specially Designated Global Terrorist list on 25 July. In an 22 Aug. communiqué shared by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, President Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s government said transnational crime and narco-terrorism pose a “grave threat” to regional peace and pledged to work with bilateral partners to confront the network. Tensions escalated after Trinidad & Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar authorised the deployment of warships and signalled readiness to assist the United States if Venezuela attacks Guyana. The move dovetails with a U.S. amphibious squadron—USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale—sailing toward the southern Caribbean under a counter-narcotics mandate. Caracas rejected Guyana’s statement as a U.S. provocation. Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, in a 23 Aug. phone call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, thanked Moscow for its “unconditional support” amid what she called escalating U.S. threats. Rodríguez urged Georgetown to abide by the 1966 Geneva Agreement on the Essequibo dispute and asserted that no foreign power can impose decisions on Venezuela.