U.S. designates two more Mexican cartels as terrorist groups
by Macarena Hermosilla · UPIJuly 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury Department officially designated Mexico's Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras as transnational terrorist organizations while maintaining existing sanctions against both groups for drug trafficking.
The measure, published in the Federal Register, elevates the legal status of both organizations, allowing U.S. authorities to impose more aggressive financial sanctions and block funding for their operations.
It also paves the way for harsher criminal penalties in U.S. courts for cartel members and their business associates.
The two organizations join six other Mexican cartels previously designated as terrorist organizations under President Donald Trump's directive as part of a strategy to intensify the fight against drug trafficking and the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
According to the Treasury Department's investigation, the Juárez Cartel, founded in the 1970s and operating from the border city of Ciudad Juárez in the state of Chihuahua, controls trafficking routes along the Texas and New Mexico border.
The group also maintains a presence in U.S. prisons and controls drug trafficking routes through cities including El Paso.
Los Viagras, a criminal organization based primarily in the western state of Michoacán, is accused of trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine produced in Mexico and transported into the United States.
Trump has increased pressure on Mexico and the broader region to deliver stronger results against drug cartels, particularly to curb the flow of fentanyl into the United States, using tariff threats, expanded financial sanctions and the designation of criminal organizations as terrorist groups.
This week, during his remarks at the inaugural Fentanyl-Free America Summit in Florida, DEA Administrator Terrance "Terry" Cole said Tuesday there is a "deadly connection" between drug cartel networks and the Mexican government, going so far as to say that criminals and government authorities "are one and the same" or "inseparable."
Cole warned that the DEA is deploying "the full force" of the agency to dismantle these networks by prioritizing investigations targeting chemical suppliers, distributors, money launderers and any public officials who benefit from drug trafficking.
He concluded that the United States "is watching and fighting back" and said the DEA now considers institutional complicity in Mexico its top enforcement priority.
In response, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected the allegations, describing them as politically motivated statements unsupported by evidence and defending her administration's strategy and results in combating drug trafficking.