The United States has intensified its campaign against Latin American drug cartels. The Justice Department lifted the bounty for information leading to the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to US$50 million and, according to a New York Times report, President Donald Trump signed a secret directive allowing the Pentagon to use military force against cartels that Washington now classifies as terrorist groups, including Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles. Senator Marco Rubio and US Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said the designation provides legal authority to strike organisations that, they argue, threaten US national security. The measures have drawn swift push-back across the region. Colombian President Gustavo Petro said Caracas has been “decisive” in helping to contain narcotrafficking along the 2,200-kilometre border and warned that “putting money to kill or capture political leaders” will not solve Venezuela’s internal crisis. Petro announced preliminary talks with the Clan del Golfo—the country’s largest drug-trafficking gang—while calling for a multinational, sovereignty-respecting strategy against organised crime. Honduran President Xiomara Castro dismissed the US accusations against Maduro as “attacks without foundation,” and the ALBA-TCP bloc, together with Venezuela’s presidential guard, issued statements condemning what they called outside interference. Chile’s Defence Minister Adriana Delpiano likewise stressed that “no external group” should operate in sovereign nations, noting existing security cooperation agreements already in place with Washington. The diplomatic rift further complicates US relations in a region already wary of military solutions to crime. While Washington argues that treating cartels as terrorists will broaden its toolkit, several Latin American governments insist that any anti-drug effort must be coordinated and respect national jurisdiction, signalling a contentious path ahead for the new US strategy.