Trump labels 8 Latin Cartels as ‘terrorists’
Trump administration labels 8 Latin American cartels as ‘foreign terrorist organizations’
1 Sinaloa Cartel; 2 Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG — Mexico
3 Gulf Cartel; 4 Northeast Cartel — Mexico
5 La Nueva Familia Michoacana; 6 United Cartels — Mexico
7 Tren de Aragua, or TdA — Venezuela
8 Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13 — El Salvador
As a result anonymous officials informed major US outlets this week about the CIA’s ‘benevolent’ new role: flying MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico to spy on drug cartels.
And having the cartels being labeled as ‘terrorist’ military operation could now be conducted inside Mexico to the pleasure of Senator Lindsey Graham!
Associated Press • February 20, 2025 ~ Mexico Responds Venezuela responds
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is formally designating eight Latin American crime organizations as “foreign terrorist organizations,” upping its pressure on cartels operating in the US and on anyone aiding them.
The move, carrying out a Jan 20 executive order by President Donald Trump, names Tren de Aragua in Venezuela, MS-13 in El Salvador and six groups based in Mexico. The designation will be published in Thursday’s edition of the Federal Register, according to a notice Wednesday.
Trump, a Republican, has made securing the US-Mexico border among his top priorities, vowing to carry out mass deportations, sending active duty troops to the border and reaching deals with some countries to take in more migrants.
The “foreign terrorist organization” label is unusual because it deploys a terrorist designation normally reserved for groups like al-Qaida or the Islamic State group that use violence for political ends — not for money-focused crime rings such as the Latin American cartels.
The Trump administration argues that the international connections and operations of the groups — including drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and violent pushes to extend their territory — warrant the designation.
Critics of the move call it an unnecessarily broad and harsh one that could damage relations and paralyze trade with Latin America. Businesses, banks and buyers could fear possible US prosecution if they knowingly or unknowingly have any transactions that touch the world of the cartels.
Such cartels permeate Mexico’s economy, dealing not only in drug trafficking and migrant smuggling but in fighting for control of the multibillion-dollar avocado business.
Aid groups say some past US designations of groups as foreign terrorist organizations have threatened overall food imports into countries, for example, by making shipping companies fearful that US prosecutors may accuse them of directly or indirectly supporting the targeted groups.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday before the designations were published that “if that decree has to do with extraterritorial actions (in Mexico), those we do not accept.”
But she said Mexico was in agreement on the need to advance joint investigations.
“If they make this decree to investigate even more in the United States the money laundering and the criminal groups that operate in the United States, that carry out those drug sales, it’s very good,” Sheinbaum said. “What we do not accept is the violation of our sovereignty.”
Trump over the years has singled out two of the groups — MS-13 and Tren de Aragua — in political speeches and other appearances.
US authorities say Tren de Aragua poses a threat in various US cities. Trump and his allies have seized on the gang’s presence and made it the face of the alleged threat posed by migrants.
In his first term, Trump similarly pointed to the violent street gang MS-13 as a risk of immigration. But it originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s in communities made up largely of refugees from El Salvador’s civil war and other immigrants, growing to include many US citizens. The gang is known for brutal violence and street-level drug sales.
The six Mexico-based groups designated as terrorist groups include the Sinaloa cartel, Mexico’s oldest criminal group, which traffics drugs, weapons and people.
One of Sinaloa’s most lucrative businesses in recent years has been the production of fentanyl, blamed for tens of thousands of overdose deaths each year in the US Sinaloa imports the precursor chemicals from China, produces the drug and smuggles it across the border.
The other cartels targeted by the US are Jalisco New Generation, Gulf, Northeast, La Nueva Familia Michoacana and United.
For understanding this deep-rooted conflict, consider this:
“And Esau harbored hatred in his heart against Jacob, his brother, because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him.
“And Esau said in his heart, ‘I will not do as Cain did, who killed Abel during their father’s lifetime and then their father had another son, Seth.
“Rather, I will wait until the days of mourning for my father have passed, and then I will kill Jacob my brother, and I will be the sole heir.’” Genesis 27:42 Jonathan
For more about the South, a prophecy of Esau or Edom, see Obadiah
For more on the enemy from the South, see A Sword from the South!
For more into another Captivity: see Ezekiel Timeline – 190/40 Years
Joel
A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob 