HOT on the heels of imposing sweeping new sanctions against Venezuela, the Trump administration is seriously considering putting the country on the “State Sponsor of Terrorism” list, according to a number of recent reports, including in The Washington Post.

Such a move would escalate the level of US hostility towards Venezuela. Specifically, it raises further concerns that Donald Trump may be moving towards military intervention, especially when considered alongside the US’s refusal to recognise the Nicolas Maduro administration, the hostile statements of right-wing governments in Latin America aligned with the US and reports of the US and elements of Venezuela’s right-wing opposition encouraging a coup in the country.

The Washington Post’s report quotes anonymous US State Department sources and internal emails indicating no decision has yet been made taken on listing Venezuela.

But the State Department has apparently asked for comments on the proposal from various government agencies such as the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Health and Human Services, and USAid, with a decision expected soon.

The terrorism list targets governments accused of repeatedly providing “support for acts of international terrorism” and currently includes only Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria.

Worryingly, listing can be a precursor to military intervention at a later date. Iraq, for example, was added following its 1990 invasion of Kuwait and stayed on until removed following the 2003 invasion and the violent overthrow of the government of Saddam Hussein.

Immediate penalties for the listing include a ban on arms-related exports and sales, prohibitions on economic assistance and the imposition of miscellaneous financial and other restrictions, such as opposing loans by the World Bank and other international financial institutions.

Such US restrictions and sanctions have mostly already been imposed on Venezuela. The impact of the listing would be more likely to be felt in the diplomatic sphere, through a further attack on Venezuela’s reputation internationally, and in the mobilising of US domestic opinion in favour of military action.

Senator Marco Rubio, who has said he would support a coup in Venezuela, is a key voice in trying to influence both public opinion and the Trump administration towards military intervention.

Together with fellow Republican Senators John Cornyn and Cory Gardner, Rubio lobbied State Secretary Mike Pompeo for Venezuela to be included in the terrorism listing back in September, in a letter falsely claiming that “Venezuela is not fully co-operating with US anti- terrorism efforts.”

Also in September the US State Department published its Country Reports on Terrorism 2017, which says of Venezuela: “Significant deficiencies remained in the terrorist asset-freezing regime, including a lack of adequate procedures to identify and freeze terrorist assets.”

The Venezuelan government has repudiated the report’s allegations, promising that it “will continue to fight tirelessly against international terrorism through co-operation with civilised countries that seek to maintain world peace and security.”

But ironically it is defending itself against charges brought by what it terms “the main protagonist of state terrorism in the world.” In Venezuela’s case, US action has involved the imposition of unilateral coercive measures and an illegal economic blockade, the threat of military force and, most recently, “a terrorist attack planned and financed precisely in the United States of America.”

The attack referred to took place in August last year when two bomb-carrying drones exploded close to President Maduro’s stage at a public event. Ultra-right groups took responsibility for the attack, and a number of citizens and former military officials have since been arrested.

Venezuela fears further such efforts spearheaded by the US, with or without the aid of its Latin American supporters such as Colombia’s President Ivan Duque and Brazil’s far-right President, Jair Bolsonaro.

In December Venezuela revealed specific details of a plot by the US, headed by John Bolton, Trump’s National Security Adviser, to launch a coup d’etat to overthrow the elected government.

Bolton has previously sought to prepare the ground for his stated objective of “greater US involvement” in Latin America. In the past he promoted the invasion of Iraq on false claims of “weapons of mass destruction,” and also made similar fabricated claims against Cuba.

Bolton has also falsely accused Venezuela of protecting Iranian “smugglers” in a bid to target its government, including it with Cuba and Nicaragua in what he terms a “troika of tyranny.”

But a move by the US to include Venezuela on its terrorism list could prove to be politically counterproductive for the Trump administration, according to David Smilde, a senior fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America.

Smilde doubts that the US State Department can back up any claim that Venezuela supports terrorism, saying that “I suspect this will be based on hearsay and sources of questionable integrity.”

This echoes the view of an unnamed State Department official whom the Washington Post quotes as saying: “It would be a challenge for the Trump administration to provide concrete proof linking the Maduro government to terrorism if it decides to put Venezuela on the list.”

This may be a challenge for the US but not a deterrent. Labelling a country “terrorist” has always been a subjective judgement by the US.

As Nacla, the research group specialising in Latin America has noted: “During the Reagan years, the simple term ‘terrorism’ — without other identifying national or ideological markers — became short-hand for any perceived threat of violence directed against US interests.”

The threat has only to be “perceived” — so, for example, in 2007 the Bush administration hinted that Nicaragua might be added to the list of nations that sponsor terrorism and face possible US sanctions if Sandinista candidate Daniel Ortega simply won the November 4 presidential election.

The task for solidarity work in Britain therefore remains to oppose any moves by the US to intervene militarily in Venezuela, and to continue to urge the British government and the EU to do all they can to support dialogue in Venezuela.

Tim Young is an EC member of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign — www.venezuelasolidarity.co.uk.