The United States has designated Mexico’s Juarez Cartel and Los Viagras as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), expanding terrorism-related sanctions and legal penalties against the two criminal groups as part of President Donald Trump’s intensified campaign against Latin American cartels.The designation, published in the Federal Register on Thursday after being filed by the State Department a day earlier, takes immediate effect.The US Treasury Department has also added both organisations to its sanctions list as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs), enabling authorities to freeze assets, block financial transactions and pursue individuals or entities accused of providing material support.Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the groups had either committed terrorist acts or posed a significant risk to the security of US nationals and the country’s national security, foreign policy and economy.
Eight Mexican cartels now on US terror list
With the addition of the Juarez Cartel and Los Viagras, the number of Mexican criminal organisations designated as terrorist groups by the Trump administration has risen to eight.The two groups join the Sinaloa Cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Gulf Cartel, Northeast Cartel, Carteles Unidos and La Nueva Familia Michoacana on the list.The administration has also extended similar designations to several gangs and criminal organisations across Latin America, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles, Ecuador’s Los Choneros and Los Lobos, Colombia’s Clan del Golfo, Brazil’s Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital, and the MS-13 and Barrio 18 gangs.
Juarez Cartel controls key border trafficking route
The Juarez Cartel is among Mexico’s oldest drug trafficking organisations and has long controlled the strategic Ciudad Juarez corridor opposite El Paso, Texas, one of the busiest drug smuggling routes into the United States.The organisation rose to prominence under Amado Carrillo Fuentes, known as the “Lord of the Skies” for using aircraft to transport massive cocaine shipments during the 1990s.Following his death in 1997, leadership passed to other members of the Carrillo Fuentes family.The State Department identified La Linea, the cartel’s armed wing, and Barrio Azteca, a prison and street gang with operations on both sides of the US-Mexico border, as aliases linked to the organisation.The Juarez Cartel was also involved in a prolonged turf war with the Sinaloa Cartel beginning in 2008, a conflict that left thousands dead and briefly made Ciudad Juarez one of the world’s most violent cities.Mexican security analyst David Saucedo said the latest designation could strengthen Washington’s ability to pursue more aggressive enforcement measures along the Texas border, where the Gulf Cartel and Northeast Cartel were similarly designated earlier this year.
Los Viagras grew from self-defence movement
Los Viagras emerged in the western state of Michoacan around 2013 after armed civilian groups pushed back older cartels in the region. Over time, the organisation evolved into a criminal network involved in drug trafficking, extortion and organised violence.The cartel is led by Nicolas Sierra Santana, who was indicted in the District of Columbia in June 2025 on conspiracy to traffic drugs. The US State Department has announced a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest.Authorities say the group manufactures synthetic drugs, extorts local businesses and has shifted alliances over the years to consolidate territorial control. It has also operated as part of Carteles Unidos, an alliance formed to counter the expansion of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Michoacan.
Pressure mounts on Mexico
The latest designations come amid growing pressure on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration following the indictment of 10 current and former officials from Sinaloa over alleged links to the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as continuing scrutiny over US security operations in Mexico.By classifying the cartels as terrorist organisations, the Trump administration has expanded its legal authority to target their financial networks, supporters and international business links, while increasing pressure on cross-border criminal organisations operating in North America.