What's happened
The US has expanded a crackdown to label and sanction Latin American criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations. The move targets cartels such as Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartel, aiming to pressure groups and allies across the region. The approach has triggered tensions with regional governments and revealed contradictions in policy.
What's behind the headline?
Short analysis
- The label expands leverage against drug networks by framing them as foreign terrorists, potentially justifying enhanced sanctions and cross-border operations.
- The strategy has created diplomatic friction, as governments like Mexico and Honduras face internal and external pressure not to loosen existing security commitments.
- This move may shift the balance of power among criminal networks, with more aggressive suppression potentially provoking adaptations in trafficking routes and crime financing.
- Readers should watch for how allied countries implement tracking of assets and cooperation on intelligence sharing, which could directly affect supply chains in the U.S. market.
How we got here
The crackdown, announced while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is visiting Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, broadens the use of terrorism labeling to combat criminal networks involved in drug trafficking. The policy, rolled out in February 2025, has led to joint operations across Latin America, with reactions ranging from forced actions against groups to political pushback from affected states.
Our analysis
- New York Post reports on the policy rollout and regional reactions. - Independent covers the same event with similar framing and notes contradictions in Trump’s approach. - AP News provides parallel detail on the policy’s regional impact and the role of Mexico and Central American governments in the enforcement actions.
Go deeper
- What impact will this labeling have on cross-border drug flows?
- How are regional governments responding to U.S. pressure?
- Will this shift influence future cooperation on intelligence sharing?
More on these topics
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Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is a semi-militarized Mexican criminal group based in Jalisco and headed by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords.
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Haiti - Country in the Caribbean
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti formerly founded as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, to the east of Cuba and Jamaica and south of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos
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Sinaloa Cartel
The Sinaloa Cartel, also known as the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Pacific Cartel, the Federation and the Blood Alliance, is a large international drug trafficking, money laundering, and organized crime syndicate established during the late 1980s.
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Colombia - Country in South America
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a transcontinental country largely in the north of South America, with territories in North America.
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Ecuador - Country in South America
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west.
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MS-13 - Gang
Mara Salvatrucha, commonly known as MS-13, is an international criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles, California, in the 1970s and 1980s. Originally, the gang was set up to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other gangs in the Los Angeles area. Ove
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Gulf Cartel - Criminal organization
The Gulf Cartel is a criminal syndicate and drug trafficking organization in Mexico, and perhaps one of the oldest organized crime groups in the country.
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Amado Carrillo - Mexican drug lord (1954-1997)
Amado Carrillo Fuentes (; December 17, 1954 – July 4, 1997) was a Mexican drug lord. He seized control of the Juárez Cartel after assassinating his boss Rafael Aguilar Guajardo. Amado Carrillo became known as "El Señor de Los Cielos" ("The Lord of the
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Marco Rubio - United States Senator
Marco Antonio Rubio is an American attorney and politician currently serving as the senior United States Senator from Florida. A Republican, Rubio previously served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.
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Cartel De Los Choneros - Ecuadorian criminal organization
Los Choneros is an organized crime syndicate that first emerged in Ecuador’s Manabí Province. The gang is involved in organized crime, including drug trafficking, extortion, and robbery, many crimes being carried out through prisons with the help of co
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Los Lobos - Rock band
Los Lobos is a Mexican American rock group from East Los Angeles, California. Their music is influenced by rock and roll, Tex-Mex, country, zydeco, folk, R&B, blues, brown-eyed soul, and traditional music such as cumbia, boleros and norteños.
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Honduras - Country in Central America
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of
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Mexico - Country in North America
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea