Quotes
It makes it virtually impossible to get asylum for any migrant who is forced to pay any kind of fees, including ransom, to the cartels,
said Vanda Felbab-Brown, an expert at the Brookings Institution
The U.S. already has a lot of tools to go after the cartels,
said Maria Calderon from the Washington D.C.-based Wilson Center's Mexico InstituteA large number of people in positions of power in Mexico —corrupt governors and mayors, members of the security forces, bankers — are going to be prosecutable or at least untouchable (to work with) for the U.S. government,
said Adam Isacson, director of Defense Oversight at the Washington Office on Latin AmericaThere's nothing in the language of the law behind an FTO designation that authorizes any kind of military action,
said Elisabeth Malkin, deputy program director for Latin America at International Crisis GroupBeyond the additional tools this designation provides President Trump and his administration, it sends a clear message to the cartels who threaten American citizens."
White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement in response to Reuters' questionsWe all want to combat the drug cartels, that is evident. So what does one have to do? One has to join forces, collaborate with them (the U.S.) in their territory, us in our territory,
she said during a regular morning press conferenceIt could have a chilling effect for U.S. businesses across Mexico, ... we will have to see if U.S. authorities really go after companies for paying extortion."
said Brian Philips, a Mexico security expert at the University of Essex, but addedThe Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs,
the order reads
It's already been done. This is nothing new,
Vigil said
We all want to fight the drug cartels,
Sheinbaum said at her daily press briefingTrump can essentially prevent the vast majority of undocumented migrants trying to cross the U.S. border from getting asylum,
she saidIt's not going to allow the U.S. to send troops into Mexico like so many people think simply because people forget that Mexico is a sovereign country and it would be an act of war,
he said,_candidate_for_US_House_in_VA-01_(cropped).jpg)
Declaring drug cartels terrorist organizations allows Trump to wage war on Mexico with zero congressional input."
Political commentator Krystal Ball said in a post on X, formerly Twitter
[The ... The cartels are] killing our people. They're killing 250,000 to 300,000 American people a year."
President Donald Trump said in the Oval OfficeThe drug cartels are waging war on America—and it's now time for America to wage war on the cartels,
Trump said in 2023An investigation into terrorism is justice not only for us, but also for every town and corner of the country where a family has been destroyed and terror is sown in its wake,
he wrote on a post on the social media platform X
And we will begin the process of (removing) criminal aliens back to the places where (they came from),
Trump saidUnder the orders I'll signed today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations,
he said,