Caracas (AFP) - Venezuela on Monday rejected the US terrorist designation of an alleged drug cartel on its territory as a “ridiculous lie” aimed at paving the way for an “illegitimate” US military intervention.

Over the past two months, President Donald Trump has progressively ramped up pressure on his leftist Venezuelan arch-foe, President Nicolas Maduro.

The US has deployed the world’s largest aircraft carrier and other military forces to waters near Venezuela as part of what it calls a campaign to dismantle Latin American drug trafficking routes.

Officials in Caracas suspect that the United States is mounting an operation to topple Maduro, whose re-election last year was widely rejected by the international community as fraudulent.

On Monday, Washington’s listing of the Venezuelan “Cartel de los Soles” (Cartel of the Suns) as a foreign terrorist organization officially took effect, opening the door to new forms of US pressure on Maduro’s administration.

“Venezuela categorically, firmly, and absolutely rejects the new and ridiculous lie from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who designates the alleged Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization… to justify an illegitimate and illegal intervention against Venezuela,” Venezuela’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The Trump administration alleges that the Cartel of the Suns is a drug trafficking syndicate run by Maduro and has issued a $50 million reward for the president’s capture.

The Cartel of the Suns is responsible for “terrorist violence throughout our hemisphere,” Rubio said on November 16.

But Venezuela and countries that support it insist no such organization even exists.

Several Venezuela experts say what Washington calls the Cartel of the Suns refers to the corruption of senior officials by criminal organizations, including drug traffickers.

- Flights cancelled -

The designation is part of a US campaign against drugs from Latin America.

US forces have killed at least 83 people in strikes on boats accused of ferrying drugs from Latin America towards the United States since September, according to an AFP tally of publicly released figures.

Most of the vessels targeted set out from Venezuela.

No evidence has been made public that drugs were on board.

With a major military presence now deployed in the Caribbean, including an aircraft carrier, the FTO designation will give legal cover for more pressure on the Venezuelan authorities.

The Trump administration has been vague about how far it is willing to go in Venezuela, but the huge military build-up and regular killings of people in small boats have rattled nerves – and prompted concerns in Washington that the US military may be breaking the law.

On Saturday, six airlines announced they were canceling flights to Venezuela due to safety concerns.

The US Federal Aviation Administration on Friday urged civilian aircraft in Venezuelan airspace to “exercise caution” due to the “worsening security situation and heightened military activity in or around Venezuela.”