WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is formally designating eight Latin American crime organizations as “foreign terrorist organizations,” upping its pressure on cartels operating in the U.S. 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 others. The designation will be published in Thursday’s edition of the Federal Register, according to a notice Wednesday.
The Republican president has made securing the U.S.-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 notification is due for formal publication in the federal register Thursday.
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 U.S. 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 fighting for control of the multibillion-dollar avocado business.
Aid groups say some past U.S. designations of groups as foreign terrorist organizations have threatened overall food imports into countries, for example, by making shipping companies fearful that U.S. prosecutors may accuse them of directly or indirectly supporting the targeted groups.
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum responded to Trump’s order last month that set up the new formal designation by saying Mexico would defend its sovereignty and independence while seeking coordination.
“We all want to fight the drug cartels,” Sheinbaum said. The U.S. “in their territory, us in our territory.”