U.S. Secretary of State Rubio announced at approximately 7:00 PM UTC on December 16, 2025, that the State Department is designating Colombia's Clan del Golfo as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorist to protect national security interests and deny funding to narco-terrorists, according to his X post. The statement from @StateDept via @SecRubio indicates the United States will use all available tools against the violent criminal organization, shared over the past 29 minutes during U.S. Southern Command's Operation Southern Spear targeting drug trafficking. This follows the U.S. Treasury Department's earlier designation of Clan del Golfo as a transnational terrorist organization, as reported by FaytuksNetwork, amid ongoing military deployments including the USS San Antonio (LPD 17) departing Ponce, Puerto Rico, on December 16, according to @WarshipCam citing @MichaelBonet8. Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner stated after a briefing on Caribbean boat strikes that he received no new information, including on a video and after-action reports from a September 2 incident, as quoted by @ChadPergram over the past 29 minutes. Separately, President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak on national television tomorrow at 9 p.m. Eastern time, according to an announcement by @MundoEConflicto shared in this period.
