Title: Trump‘s Team Revives Plan to Designate Mexican Cartels as Terrorist Organizations
In a potential shift in U.S. drug policy, Donald Trump’s incoming administration is discussing the possibility of labeling Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations, ունենenciating an idea that was first floated during Trump’s first term but never materialized.
The news, brokered by three sources familiar with the deliberations, resurrects a notion that Trump seemed poised to execute late in 2019. At that time, he hinted at the designation, only to back down following requests from then-Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. But within the Department of Justice under Trump, the idea drew significant pushback from both career officials and political appointees.
Though Trump ultimately refrained from the designation, Republican lawmakers have continued to champion the notion in the wake of his presidency. Rep. Mansfield "Mark" Barr, for instance, reintroduced legislation that would categorize certain cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). The cartels, which rake in billions of dollars annually, control a significant portion of illegal drug trafficking into the U.S. and are also involved in human trafficking.
As recently as last December, while speaking in Arizona, Trump renewed his pledge to designate Mexican drug cartels as FTOs. This designation could potentially pave the way for U.S. military force to be used on Mexican soil. Trump even threatened to launch airstrikes on fentanyl labs and deploy special forces to neutralize cartel leaders, moves that could undermine Mexico’s sovereignty and strain U.S.-Mexican relations.
Designating cartels as FTOs could impose tougher financial sanctions and carry weightier legal implications in the U.S. for implicated individuals. However, experts warn that such a move could further strain the Already tense relationship between the United States and Mexico.
As prescribed by U.S. law, the Secretary of State must coordinate with the Secretaries of Justice and the Treasury to make such a designation before notifying the Congress. Currently, among those listed as FTOs are ISIS, Boko Haram, and Hamas, among others.
Critics of the plan argue that U.S. federal agencies already possess the appropriate tools to dismantle transnational criminal organizations. Indeed, under the Biden administration, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched an interagency initiative that committed $50 million and deployed over 1,300 personnel to Latin America to combat human trafficking networks.
This interagency approach has yielded results. Operación Centinela, for example, aimed to restrict the ability of human traffickers and their associates to travel, conduct commerce, or engage in financial transactions, with the ultimate goal of weakening these networks. Similarly, the“Joint Task Force Alpha” focuses on investigating and prosecuting human trafficking and human smuggling networks in Mexico and the Northern Triangle.
Some former Homeland Security officials contend that existing resources are sufficient to combat transnational criminal organizations and that designating cartels as FTOs would serve primarily to pressure the Mexican government. Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have expressed skepticism of this argument, insisting that the U.S. needs to move more swiftly against the cartels.
During Trump’s first term, then-Attorney General William Barr raised the idea of designating Mexican cartels as FTOs, despite reservations from high-ranking administration officials. In a 2019 meeting at the Oval Office, Barr, alongside other Justice Department officials, discussed the matter with Trump and other administration officials. While Barr supported exploring the option, other administration officials expressed concern.
The discussion reportedly dissolved following an agreement between Barr and Mexican officials to strengthen cooperation on migration and human trafficking issues. But more recently, Barr revisited the idea, asserting that the FTO designation alone would not suffice.
In his memoir and in a March 2023 editorial for the Wall Street Journal, Barr cited the surge in U.S. overdose deaths tied to fentanyl and other drugs as a reason for Congress to grant the president authority to deploy the U.S. military to pursue cartels within Mexican territory.
Ideally, Barr wrote, Mexican authorities would welcome limited U.S. military assistance, in conjunction with American intelligence and law enforcement operations, to combat what he called a "narco-terrorist threat." He pointed to Syria, where the U.S. has used military force to pursue ISIS after determining that Syrian authorities failed to prevent the group’s threats to neighboring countries.
Even with his aggressive stance, Barr acknowledged the complexity of U.S.-Mexico relations. Recalling the controversy surrounding the 2020 arrest of former Mexican Defense Secretary Salvador Cienfuegos, he noted that Mexico had protested the action by temporarily suspending cooperation on immigration and narcotics matters. The incident highlighted the need for balanced, tactful diplomacy in navigating U.S.-Mexico relations.
Upon assuming office, President Biden sought to repair the frayed relationship between the two countries. A series of high-level administration officials, including Vice President Kamala Harris, visited Mexico City in 2021 to placate Mexican officials and restore cooperation in countering cartel influence.
As Trump’s administration gears up for another term, the revived discussion of labeling Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations raises fraught questions about the appropriate response to transnational criminal organizations, the dynamics of U.S.-Mexico relations, and the potential consequences for both countries.
