President-elect Donald Trump’s team is discussing a plan to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations, according to three sources familiar with the discussions, bringing forward an idea that failed to materialize during his first term in office.
In late 2019, Trump appeared close to designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations but was blocked at the request of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. But inside Trump’s Justice Department, the idea of designating drug cartels as terrorists has also drawn widespread pushback from career officials and from Trump’s political appointees.
While the designation has stalled, Republicans have continued to float it in the years since, including introducing legislation that would designate the designated cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. Mexican drug cartels rake in billions of dollars and control the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, and are also involved in human trafficking.
As Trump prepares for his return to office, the designation is on the table. Sources told CNN that it was unclear whether Trump would move to designate the Mexican criminal group selected as a foreign terrorist organization on the first day, but discussions are ongoing on who might be included and when action would be taken.
