U.S. President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency on the border between Mexico and the United States, due to the constant passage of undocumented immigrants, and then declared the Mexican cartels as terrorist groups.
Donald Trump signed some 200 executive orders on Monday, January 20th, including ordering that cartels be designated as foreign terrorist organizations, in addition to establishing a national priority to end the operations of these criminal organizations on U.S. soil.
U.S. law establishes that the State Department is responsible for triggering the bureaucratic procedure for the designation. It is not an express process, as it requires reports from multiple agencies and secretariats and the final approval of Congress. Trump has the advantage that now the Republicans control both chambers.
Questioned about this proposal in his confirmation appearance as head of the State Department, Rubio acknowledged before the Senate that it is an option on the table along with others.
The states that support the designation of Mexican cartels as terrorists are Virginia, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.
The designation of a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) requires three general requirements:
- That it be a foreign group.
- That it has been carried out or can carry out terrorist acts.
- That its activity threatens the safety and integrity of American citizens or the national security of the U.S.
In this context, Republican prosecutors have identified nine organized crime groups in Mexico, which meet this criterion due to their current activities or acts carried out in the past. These are:
- Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
- Sinaloa Cartel.
- Juarez/La Linea Cartel.
- Gulf Cartel.
- Northeast Cartel.
- United Warriors.
- The Michoacan Family.
- The Rojos.
- Beltran Leyva Organization.
Source: OEM
