Editor’s Note: An earlier Spanish version of this article appeared in La Opinión.
I have always opposed the designation of Mexico’s organized crime groups (what the United States considers “Mexican cartels”) as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). Now, President Donald Trump has taken action to make this possible—via his January 20 executive order and its mandate to the U.S. Secretary of State to take formal action on adding “certain international cartels” operating in Mexico to its FTO list (as well as El Tren de Aragua, which originated in Venezuela, and La Mara Salvatrucha, MS-13, a Salvadoran gang born in the United States).
Given Trump’s order and despite potential negative (and long-term) effects for Mexican sovereignty and national security, the U.S. and Mexican economies, as well as for the $850 billion annual trade relationship, it’s important to consider potential positive aspects of the designation for Mexico at the domestic level. While I argue that the so-called drug cartels, which are splintered into local cells and specialize in a variety of activities (not only drug trafficking), fail to meet the definition of FTOs, there are reasons to support the classification of some of these groups’ recent acts as domestic terrorism in Mexico. (I was able to confirm this from testimonies of victims and communities affected by extreme violence and terror perpetrated by local organized crime groups during a 2024 visit to Sonora state.)
