The United States has officially designated the Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras as Foreign Terrorist

-Editorial 

The U.S. Department of State has designated the Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), expanding the U.S. government’s use of terrorism-related authorities against Mexican criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking, violence and other illicit activities.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the designations are intended to disrupt the financial networks of the organizations and limit their ability to operate internationally. The State Department said both groups have carried out violent attacks against civilians, Mexican security forces and U.S. citizens.

The department cited the 2019 killing of nine U.S. citizens, including three adults and six children, in Sonora as one example of violence linked to the Juárez Cartel’s La Línea faction. The victims, members of a U.S.-Mexican family, were killed in an ambush that Mexican authorities attributed to criminal groups.

The State Department described the Juárez Cartel as one of Mexico’s oldest criminal organizations and said it maintains influence in the Ciudad Juárez region along the U.S.-Mexico border. Los Viagras, based in the state of Michoacán, was identified as a faction involved in synthetic drug production, extortion, and other criminal activities.

Under the new designations, property and financial interests belonging to organizations located in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons will be blocked. U.S. individuals and businesses are generally prohibited from conducting transactions with the designated groups.

The designations also allow U.S. authorities to pursue legal action against individuals, companies or organizations that provide material support to the groups. The State Department said the measures are intended to isolate the organizations from the international financial system and limit access to resources used to conduct criminal operations.

The actions were taken under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224. Foreign Terrorist Organization designations become effective following publication in the Federal Register.

The designations are part of a broader policy shift by the Trump administration toward treating certain transnational criminal organizations as national security threats rather than solely as law enforcement matters.

In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14157, titled “Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.” The order directed federal agencies to evaluate criminal organizations for possible terrorism-related designations and expanded the government’s ability to impose financial sanctions and pursue enforcement actions.

The administration has said the designations provide additional tools to target cartel financing, freeze assets, prosecute individuals accused of supporting designated groups, and increase cooperation with foreign governments.

With the addition of the Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras, the Trump administration has designated eight Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. The list includes the Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Gulf Cartel, Northeast Cartel, La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Cárteles Unidos, the Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras.

The Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG are among Mexico’s largest criminal organizations and have been linked by U.S. authorities to international drug trafficking networks, including the production and distribution of synthetic drugs such as fentanyl. The Gulf Cartel and Northeast Cartel operate primarily in northeastern Mexico, while La Nueva Familia Michoacana and Cárteles Unidos have been associated with criminal activity in central and western Mexico.

Beyond Mexico, the administration has also designated four other violent transnational criminal groups under similar authorities: MS-13, a gang with operations in El Salvador and the United States; Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan criminal organization; and Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, Haitian gangs.

The State Department said terrorist designations are intended to expose and isolate targeted organizations by restricting financial access and supporting law enforcement efforts against their networks.