MEXICO CITY — The United States government is formally designating eight Latin American organized crime groups that also operate in the U.S. to be “foreign terrorist organizations.” They are involved in drug trafficking, migrant smuggling and extend their territory through violence.
The Trump administration is applying a “terrorist” designation that’s normally reserved for groups like the Islamic State group or al-Qaida that use violence for political ends — not for money-focused crime rings such as the Latin American cartels. The aim is to increase pressure on the groups and anyone who the U.S. sees as aiding them. The designation will be published in Thursday’s edition of the Federal Register, according to a notice Wednesday.
Here’s a look at the eight Latin American drug cartels labeled as foreign terrorist organizations:
The Sinaloa Cartel, through various incarnations, is Mexico’s oldest criminal group – dating to the 1970s. It is a criminal conglomerate, an umbrella of sorts for various groups, based in the mountains of the state by the same name in northwest Mexico. It holds firm control of the western portion of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Sinaloa moves all sorts of drugs across continents using boats, planes, migrants and cross-border tunnels. It’s considered the most corrupting criminal organization in Mexico. A former security chief was convicted of helping them.
One of their most lucrative businesses in recent years has been the production of the synthetic opioid fentanyl, blamed for tens of thousands of overdose deaths each year in the U.S. Sinaloa imports the precursor chemicals from China, produces the drug and smuggles it across the border.
The arrest of Sinaloa’s eldest leader, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada in July set off months of internal jockeying for power between Zambada loyalists and sons of the cartel’s best known former leader Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, already serving a life sentence in the U.S.
The gruesome discovery of some thirty dismembered bodies dumped in the hotel zone of Veracruz in 2011 announced the arrival of the “Zeta Killers,” who soon established themselves as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a hyper-violent and fast-growing group that spread through sort of franchise agreements with local gangs.
Jalisco, named for a west-central Mexican state where it’s based, has aggressively attacked Mexican authorities, including military helicopters, using explosive-dropping drones and improvised explosive devices. It even attempted a spectacular assassination of the then-Mexico City police chief — now Mexico’s security director — in the heart of the capital.
Led by Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says Jalisco distributes tons of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl in all 50 states.
