State Department Now Lists Cartels As Terrorist Organizations. What Happens Next?

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You likely read news in mid-February about President Donald Trump’s State Department updating their list of foreign terrorist organizations to include a handful of the world’s most notorious cartels. But what does this mean, and what happens next?

Trump signed his executive order “DESIGNATING CARTELS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AS FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS AND SPECIALLY DESIGNATED GLOBAL TERRORISTS” on January 20. The order started the process allowing “certain international cartels (the Cartels) and other organizations will be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, consistent with section 219 of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1189), or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, consistent with IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702) and Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001 (Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism), as amended.”

On Feb. 19, the following list of cartels were added to the list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations:

• Tren de Aragua
• MS-13
• Sinaloa Cartel
• Jalisco New Generation Cartel
• United Cartels
• Northeast Cartel
• Gulf Cartel
• Michoacán Family

Screenshot/x/america

What Is The Goal Here?

The purpose of Trump’s EO was to tackle major threats from various international cartels. These include: the national security threat posed by ongoing “traditional organized crime,” such as stopping cartels from growing, joining with each other or “antagonistic foreign governments,” mitigating asymmetric warfare, and ending the ongoing infiltration by cartels into foreign governments across the Western Hemisphere. (POPULAR NEWS: RFK Jr. Explains His Simple Plan For American Agriculture In Short Video)

“It is the policy of the United States to ensure the total elimination of these organizations’ presence in the United States and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States through their extraterritorial command-and-control structures, thereby protecting the American people and the territorial integrity of the United States,” the EO adds.

Reports from Reuters and other outlets suggest the CIA is already engaged in surveillance on Mexico, with potential covert operations underway.

How Will These Goals Be Met?

Reports from Reuters and other outlets suggest the CIA is already engaged in surveillance on Mexico, with potential covert operations underway. Trump advisor, technology billionaire Elon Musk suggested that cartels are now eligible for drone strikes, but it’s unclear whether this is the plan, an idea, or even true.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has agreed to send at least 10,000 Mexican soldiers to the U.S. border to help crackdown on cartel activity. “What we do not accept is the violation of our sovereignty,” Sheinbaum apparently told reporters of the situation. (POPULAR: Trump Keeps Campaign Promises With YUGE Tax Overhaul)

It sounds like we won’t be going into any type of traditional warfare with the cartels. However, Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that “all options are on the table” for how the U.S. military can perform special operations against the cartels as a result of the designation.

How Are People Reacting?

Apparently some people feel the move is “unnecessarily broad and harsh,” presumably against the drug and human traffickers who’ve plagued our nation for decades? “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,” the Associated Press reported. “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.”

Lawmakers have been trying to designate cartels as terrorist organizations for many years, particularly as a result of the hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths caused by cartel activity. For the most part, people on social media appear to support the move. (POPULAR: Wisconsin Voters Can Change Their Lives In Feb & April: What You Need To Know)

“Drug cartels from Mexico and Venezuela have the blood of more Americans on their hands than any foreign adversary in American history. They are terrorists and they should be destroyed,” said Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton.

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