U.S. designates 2 more Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations

The U.S. government has officially designated two additional Mexican criminal organizations, the Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras, as foreign terrorist organizations. This move, published in the Federal Register, places them alongside six other Mexican groups, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, that the U.S. already considers terrorist entities.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that both designated groups have either committed terrorist acts or pose a significant risk to the security of U.S. nationals, as well as the nation's national security, foreign policy, or economy. This designation is part of an intensified effort, initiated in February 2025, to combat Latin American cartels and enable more assertive U.S. actions against them and any perceived enablers.

The Juárez Cartel, one of Mexico's oldest drug trafficking organizations, has historically controlled a crucial border crossing point in Ciudad Juárez, opposite El Paso, Texas. A faction of this cartel is believed to be responsible for the 2019 deaths of nine U.S. citizens, six of whom were children. Despite leadership arrests, the cartel and its allies maintain a substantial infrastructure for smuggling illegal goods into the U.S.

Los Viagras operates in the western state of Michoacán, an area already home to other designated groups like Cárteles Unidos and La Nueva Familia Michoacana. Analysts suggest the designation empowers the U.S. to implement more decisive border security measures, particularly as other groups like the Gulf Cartel and Northeast Cartel were also designated in February 2025.

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both criminal groups either have committed terrorist acts or pose a serious risk of committing acts that threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.