U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

By KELIN DILLON

According to a report released by U.S. newspaper The New York Times (NYT) on Thursday, Feb. 13, the U.S. Department of State – as ordered by the administration of President Donald Trump – is preparing to classify multiple notorious Latin American drug trafficking cartels as terrorist groups in the coming days.

The move comes just several weeks after Trump signed a sweeping executive order on Jan. 20 to “ensure the total elimination” of any cartel that “constitutes a national-security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime.” 

Out of the eight Latin American criminal groups expected to be named by the State Department, six are reportedly organizations based in Mexico.

These include the Cartel del Golfo (CDG), the Sinaloa cartel, the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG), the Michoacán family, the Northeast cartel and the United cartels, whose global operations reportedly net up to $20 billion in profit annually – or 2 percent of Mexico’s total GDP.

While some speculated the State Department’s inclusion of the CDG acronym referred to Colombia’s Clan del Golfo, sources told the NYT that the U.S. government likely intends to target Mexico’s Cartel del Golfo.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously stated that “there are parts of Mexico, many parts of Mexico, in which the government doesn’t control those areas; drug cartels control them.”

“They are the most powerful force on the ground, and they are plowing into the United States,” added the U.S. official. “They’re facilitating illegal migration, but they are also bringing in fentanyl and deadly drugs to our country. That’s a national security threat, and that needs to stop.”

After briefing congressional committees on the matter, the U.S. Department of State is expected to publicly announce the new terrorist organization classifications as soon as this week.

Meanwhile, the United States has already increased airborne surveillance on Mexican cartels in anticipation of the declaration.

For her part, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (CSP) said that Mexico would “coordinate” with the United States but retain sovereignty and independence over its territory.