Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated eight cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) in a February 6 Department of State declaration. His action was responsive to President Trump’s executive order on January 20, which set the framework for designating cartels and other organizations as FTOs. The January 20 E.O. is one of several orders Trump has signed to address cartel activity and stem the flow of illegal aliens and illicit drugs at the southern border.
The cartels named in Rubio’s declaration are Tren de Aragua, Mara Salvatrucha, Cartel de Sinaloa, Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, Carteles Unidos, Cartel del Noreste, Cartel del Golfo, and La Nueva Familia Michoacana. These are some of the most brutal organizations operating in the United States, Mexico, and Central and South America. All have intricate international networks that participate in the lucrative businesses of extortion, drug- and human-smuggling, organ-harvesting, money-laundering, and human-trafficking.
Rubio referenced section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) as the basis for the designation. Per the INA, the secretary is authorized to designate as an FTO if the secretary finds that
- the organization is a foreign organization.
- the organization engages in terrorist activity.
- the terrorist activity threatens the security of Americans or the United States.
These organizations engage in activities that can be legally defined as terrorism, including “premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.”
The designation sets a precedent for further U.S. actions aimed at dismantling cartel operations and reducing their activity in the U.S. and abroad. The designation also allows the United States to use legal tools to counteract cartel activity. Those legal tools include the freezing of assets, travel bans, and more muscular international cooperation.
The Cartels
Tren de Aragua: This Venezuelan group has expanded its operations to various countries in South America, including Colombia, Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Brazil. It also reportedly has a presence in at least 16 states in the United States, including New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, California, Colorado, and Tennessee.
Tren de Aragua has impacted local communities, allegedly overrunning small communities like Aurora, Colorado, where it has been linked to apartment building takeovers and spikes in crime. The organization is also associated with violent activities to intimidate and control migrant communities.
The group engages in street crimes like theft, shoplifting, street-level drug-dealing, prostitution rings, and human-trafficking and smuggling.
Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13): Primarily operates in El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, with significant activity in the United States, particularly in California, where it originated.
MS-13 is known for its gang warfare and territorial control. Its members often use weapons like firearms and machetes. They are also allegedly engaged in arms-trafficking to supply their own members and other criminal groups.
The gang is known for trafficking, especially the sexual exploitation of young women. The group also distributes and smuggles drugs, primarily in the U.S. but also in other regions. Members are known for armed robberies, carjacking, home invasions, and store robberies.
Cartel de Sinaloa: Mostly in Mexico, with strongholds in states like Sinaloa, Baja California, Sonora, Ciudad Juárez, Zacatecas, and Chiapas. It also has a vast network for drug distribution in the United States, covering at least 50 cities.
The cartel is notorious for its drug-trafficking operations. It is one of the biggest players in the global drug trade, smuggling vast quantities of illegal drugs, including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana, and fentanyl.
Smuggling techniques include sophisticated tunnels, custom-made submarines, and semi-submersibles to avoid detection. They also use small aircraft to air-drop drugs. The cartel often manages to corrupt local law enforcement, government officials, and other institutions to operate with impunity in communities. El Chapo, who was captured, was a powerful drug lord in the Sinaloa cartel.
Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG): Has a wide operational network across Mexico, especially in Jalisco but also in states like Michoacán, Guerrero, Veracruz, Puebla, Zacatecas, and Guanajuato. It is known to have global connections for drug-trafficking and for its use of drones and rocket-propelled grenade attacks.
The organization is exceptionally violent, known for being extremely brutal to maintain territorial control. Public killings, sometimes with graphic displays of violence, are a hallmark of the cartel’s operations. The group emerged in the late 2000s and quickly rose to power. It has a highly effective, decentralized structure, allowing it to adapt and scale quickly.
CJNG is known for its highly organized smuggling operations, employing sophisticated techniques for drug transportation. Members have gained control of key ports, land routes, and border areas to move drugs into the U.S. and other international markets. CNJG is often involved in turf wars with rival cartels like Sinaloa and Los Zetas.
Carteles Unidos: This coalition of smaller cartels operates mainly in the southern states of Mexico, particularly Michoacán, Guerrero, and parts of Jalisco, where they’ve been involved in extortion and control over agricultural businesses like avocado and lemon production. It is a lesser-known group that controls key drug production and trafficking routes for methamphetamine and opiates. The alliance is actively engaged in a turf war with the CJNG.
Cartel del Noreste (CDN): A military-style splinter group from Los Zetas, it operates in northeastern Mexico, particularly in Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, and San Luis Potosí. CDN is known for its brutality and violence, frequently using military-style tactics and employing assault rifles, grenades, and high-powered firearms.
Many in the cartel are former soldiers, police officers, and other trained professionals, which gives the cartel a high degree of operational expertise. They use advanced tactics, such as ambushes, coordinated attacks, and other military strategies to maintain control and counter law enforcement efforts.
The group engages in extortion, drug-smuggling, and bribing of local officials, among other criminal activities.
Cartel del Golfo: One of the oldest cartels in Mexico, active mainly in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, especially in Matamoros and Reynosa, with control over drug-trafficking routes into Texas. The group gained notoriety in the 1980s and 1990s. The cartel played a part in the founding of the Los Zetas cartel.
Los Zetas were initially a group of elite military personnel working as enforcers for the Gulf Cartel, using their training to protect the cartel’s interests and enforce their operations. Los Zetas eventually broke away from the Gulf Cartel and became a powerful, violent cartel in their own right. This split has led to one of the most brutal rivalries in the Mexican cartel landscape.
La Nueva Familia Michoacana: Operating in Michoacán, the State of Mexico, and Guerrero, this cartel is involved in drug-trafficking, extortion, and turf wars with other groups like CJNG.
This cartel was first known for its “pseudo-religious ideology” that combines drug-trafficking with a social justice message. Members present themselves as “protectors of local communities.” They use fear and propaganda to justify their actions. They also engage in illegal logging, human-trafficking, and illegal mining.
Image: Marco Rubio. Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped).
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