Last month, the U.S. Senate narrowly rejected a bipartisan resolution recently that would have prevented the Trump administration from launching military strikes in Venezuela without congressional approval. The 49–51 vote effectively green-lit the White House's use of force, emboldening the administration to deploy an expanding fleet of warships off the Venezuelan coast, declare Cartel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organization, and expand military activities from bases in Puerto Rico in a marked escalation.