Following President Donald Trump's direction and executive action, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to designate a number of Mexican and South American drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
"Based upon a review of the Administrative Records assembled in this matter, and in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury, I have concluded that there is a sufficient factual basis to find that the relevant circumstances described in section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (hereinafter 'INA') (8 U.S.C. 1189), exist with respect to: Tren de Aragua (also known as Aragua Train); Mara Salvatrucha (also known as MS-13); Cartel de Sinaloa (also known as Sinaloa Cartel, Mexican Federation, Guadalajara Cartel); Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (also known as New Generation Cartel of Jalisco, CJNG, Jalisco New Generation Cartel); Carteles Unidos (also known as United Cartels, Tepalcatepec Cartel, Cartel de Tepalcatepec, The Grandfather Cartel, Cartel del Abuelo, Cartel de Los Reyes); Cartel del Noreste (also known as CDN, Northeast Cartel, Los Zetas); Cartel del Golfo (also known as CDG, Gulf Cartel, Osiel Cardenas-Guillen Organization); and La Nueva Familia Michoacana (also known as LNFM)," a public notice, set to be officially published in the Federal Register on Thursday, states.
"Therefore, I hereby designate the aforementioned organizations and their respective aliases as Foreign Terrorist Organizations pursuant to section 219 of the INA," it continues.
The move is a fulfillment of President Trump's executive order on the matter, which he signed on his first day back in the White House on January 20.
"The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs," the order states.
🚨 The U.S. has officially declared the following as Foreign Terrorist Organizations: Tren de Aragua, MS-13, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the United Cartels, the Gulf Cartel, the Northeast Cartel, and the Michoacán Family. pic.twitter.com/cgcw9juyEl
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) February 19, 2025
"The Cartels functionally control, through a campaign of assassination, terror, rape, and brute force nearly all illegal traffic across the southern border of the United States. In certain portions of Mexico, they function as quasi-governmental entities, controlling nearly all aspects of society. The Cartels’ activities threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere. Their activities, proximity to, and incursions into the physical territory of the United States pose an unacceptable national security risk to the United States," it continues.
Meanwhile, the CIA is reportedly flying drones into Mexico to surveil cartel activity, operations and locations.
Trump's remarks about the CIA flying Drones over Mexico
— Steve Gruber (@stevegrubershow) February 18, 2025
Mexico is largely run by the Cartels! pic.twitter.com/0bl8pooHjL
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