Designating Gangs/Cartels as Terrorist Groups is Pointless
Despite his reservations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio fulfilled a Trump promise to designate cartels as terrorist groups
The Department of State has officially designated several Latin American gangs and cartels as terrorist organizations, making the dangerous leap that could lead to the violation of several nations’ sovereignty. Despite Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s reservations during his Senate confirmation hearing, calling the designations an “imperfect tool” against what he called “sophisticated transnational terroristic organizations,” he made good on Trump’s promise.
At his confirmation hearing (video below), Rubio mentioned that he preferred to work with the Mexican government to tackle crime syndicates in Mexico rather than employ “terrorist” designations. Presumably, Rubio was referring to the work the two countries have committed to in tackling cartels.
For example, while recent reporting highlighted how U.S. military drones have been flying in Mexican airspace, on Wednesday, Mexican President Claudia Shienbaum said her government requested surveillance drones and is working in collaboration with the U.S. government. It’s unclear whether the terrorist designations are also part of that collaboration.
However, considering the U.S. and Mexico have for decades worked together on similar ventures, the United States likely coordinated with the Mexican government. Earlier this year, Sheinbaum argued that the designations won’t help reduce crime and said Mexico would defend its sovereignty against unilateral action while calling for coordination with the U.S.
“We all want to fight the drug cartels," Sheinbaum said. “[The U.S.] in their territory, us in our territory.”
On Thursday, the Department of State issued a press release and a fact sheet after officially designating eight gangs/cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). The designations come after Trump’s executive order using militaristic saying cartels “threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.”
“The State Department announces the designation of Tren de Aragua, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Cártel de Sinaloa, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas), La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Cártel de Golfo (Gulf Cartel), and Cárteles Unidos as FTOs and SDGTs,” reads a press release attributable to Rubio.
This creates many operational concerns that have been spoken about at length throughout the foreign policy community. What many lawmakers and conservative pundits who support military intervention in Mexico fail to acknowledge is that Mexico has for years been using its military in a much greater capacity than Trump wants to. They also refuse to address the cartels' ability to counter military threats thus creating an environment of more violence instead of solving any problems, like the drug addiction epidemic in the United States.
It becomes even more concerning when considering that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is pushing for unilateral authority to conduct drone strikes on people designated as “terrorists” and has a dangerous obsession with the border. Rubio, who would have to defer to Hegseth on military operations, uses much of the same language used when talking about foreign terrorists halfway around the world. The same language that led to many innocent people being killed.
“The intent of designating these cartels and transnational organizations as terrorists is to protect our nation, the American people, and our hemisphere,” said Rubio. “That means stopping the campaigns of violence and terror by these vicious groups both in the United States and internationally.”
Another issue that is often widely ignored in U.S. politics is the trafficking of weapons from the United States into Mexico. Lawmakers such as Rep. Julian Castro (D-TX) have introduced legislation that severely restricts the flow of weapons to cartels yet has received little support from the same people who want to invade Mexico. Meanwhile, The Department of State fact sheet also employs more of the same militaristic language coming from Rubio.
“The United States remains committed to protecting our nation, the American people, and our hemisphere by stopping the campaigns of violence and terror committed by international cartels and transnational organizations,” reads the fact sheet.
To get to the roots of the problem, the United States must address its addiction crisis, allow Mexico to continue to provide economic opportunities for younger generations to keep them from joining gangs, and the U.S. must stop the flow of military-grade weapons into Mexico. A strategy based on these would be much more effective than escalating the war on drugs into an actual war that will inevitably kill many more people than drugs do.
The terrorism designations don’t do much other than create a premise for using the military to conduct operations in Mexico against people the U.S. deems bad guys. This action serves no other purpose other than feeding the military-industrial complex in much the same way that Trump’s immigration policies are subsidizing the private-prison-industrial complex.
“Terrorist designations expose and isolate entities and individuals, denying them access to the U.S. financial system and the resources they need to carry out attacks. As a result of actions taken today, all property and interests in property of those designated today that are in the United States or that are in possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. Moreover, designations can assist law enforcement actions of other U.S. agencies and governments.”
Isolating individuals and denying them access to U.S. banks won't have much effect but, creating a narrative that the administration is doing something is crucial for Trump. Like the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) using videos of pictures of non-criminal Venezuelans and sending them to Guantanamo, these designations are purely about messaging. Without assistance from Mexico, the U.S. would be in the dark trying to conduct military operations.
In other words, unless Mexico agrees to partner with the U.S. military, don’t expect any war-like actions in Mexico aside from what the country already doing with its own soldiers. We should expect more bombastic rhetoric and policy ideas that don’t seem to have any thought put into them. To Trump, it’s all about feeding his base red meat. Even if it’s all an easily debunkable lie.
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Nailed it, once again 🙏🏻