MIAMI _ Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio has asked Attorney General William Barr to create a special task force to consolidate all ongoing investigations into the criminal activities of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro.
In a letter addressed to Barr on Friday, Rubio _ one of the most influential voices in Washington on Venezuela policy _ wrote that the task force is needed given that Maduro benefits and protects multiple criminal enterprises that pose a risk to stability in the region and to U.S national security.
"I encourage you to consider establishing a special unit or task force to appropriately consolidate investigations and prosecutions related to the Maduro crime family into a Florida-based unit that could more effectively coordinate evidence and intelligence," Rubio wrote in the letter.
Rubio also asked Barr to work closely with investigators and prosecutors in Miami, stating that South Florida is no stranger to transnational criminal enterprises.
In the letter, shared by the senator's office with el Nuevo Herald, Rubio argued that Maduro surrounds himself with "self-serving criminal loyalists."
"This diminishing and insular circle of associates continues _ often with the aid of the governments of Cuba, Russia, China, Turkey, and Iran _ to engage in fruitful transnational criminal enterprises that beget money and power to themselves and to Maduro," Rubio said.
"To be certain, the Maduro regime threatens our common interests and people well beyond the borders of Venezuela, including our allies in the region, and is a threat to democracy, regional stability, and consequently our own national security," he added.
