The administration of US President Donald Trump formally designated eight Latin American criminal organizations as "foreign terrorist organizations" today, increasing pressure on cartels operating in the United States and all those who help them.
The decision, which implements Trump's January 20 executive order, designates Venezuela's Tren de Aragua, El Salvador's MS-13, and others as terrorist organizations, and will be published tomorrow in the US Federal Register, according to a statement released today.
The Republican president has made securing the US-Mexico border his top priority and advocates for mass deportations of migrants, sending the US military to the border, and bilateral agreements with other countries to accept migrants.
The designation "foreign terrorist organization" is unusual because it usually refers to organizations such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State that use violence to achieve political goals, rather than to amass money as is the case with Latin American cartels.
The Trump administration believes that the cartels' international connections and activities, such as drug trafficking, migrant smuggling, and violent attempts to expand their territory, justify their classification as a "foreign terrorist organization."
Critics of the Trump administration's approach believe that it is unnecessarily broad, too harsh, and could harm relations and paralyze trade with Latin American countries.
Businesses, banks, and consumers fear American lawsuits and criminal prosecution if they knowingly or unknowingly engage in transactions that have any connection to the cartel world.
The cartel's activities are deeply intertwined with the Mexican economy, for example in the sale of avocados, a business estimated to be worth billions of dollars.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to Trump's order last month by saying Mexico would defend its sovereignty and independence - in coordination with the US. "We all want to fight the drug cartels," Sheinbaum said, stressing: "The Americans on their territory, and we on ours."
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