Trump Admin Formally Designates 8 Cartels, Gangs As Terrorist Organizations

The U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday that it has formally designated several drug cartels and gangs as official Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) which expands the administration’s ability to combat the organizations.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the designation — which was made in consultation with U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — came after a sufficient factual basis was established under the Immigration and Nationality Act to classify the entities as FTOs.

The FTO and SDGT designations were applied to the following criminal enterprises: Tren de Aragua, Mara Salvatrucha, Cartel de Sinaloa, Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, Carteles Unidos, Cartel del Noreste, Cartel del Golfo, and La Nueva Familia Michoacana.

FTOs are designated by the State Department under the Immigration and Nationality Act while SDGTs are designated by the Treasury Department under Executive Order 13224.

FTOs focus on organizations and there are criminal penalties for being involved with the organization. SDGTs on the other hand focus on the terrorist organizations, individuals, and their financial backers. SDGTs result in sanctions and asset seizures.

The designations come after news broke this week that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is flying MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico as part of Trump’s efforts to revamp the war against transnational drug cartels.

The unarmed drones are currently only conducting spy missions against the cartels. The CIA can arm the drones and use them against foreign enemies, which it has often done when fighting Islamic terrorists in the Middle East and Africa.

The designations of the cartels as terrorist organizations could lay the groundwork for using the drones to kill top cartel leaders and destroy manufacturing sites.

The CIA said in a statement that “countering drug cartels in Mexico and regionally is a priority for CIA as a part of the Trump Administration’s broader efforts to end the grave threat from narco-trafficking. Director [John] Ratcliffe is determined to put CIA’s unique expertise to work against this multifaceted challenge.”

Mexican officials, powerless to counter the vastly larger and more powerful U.S. government, have downplayed the CIA drones flying over Mexico, claiming that they do “not violate national airspace,” according to Defense Minister Ricardo Trevilla.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum did not resist the notion of drones flying over Mexican airspace to fight the cartels.

“The important thing here, I think, in the declaration, which is what we have always proposed, is that they share information with the Government of Mexico,” she said.

Trump’s top goals for the agency revolve around trade wars, undermining communist China, and destroying the drug cartels.

The president was asked the day after he was sworn into office if he would consider “sending U.S. special forces into Mexico” to take out the cartels.

“Could happen,” Trump said with a large grin on his face. “Stranger things have happened.”