Donald Trump Backs Down on Plan to Designate Mexican Cartels Terrorists

President Donald Trump decided Friday not to officially designate Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, deferring instead to Mexico.

“We will temporarily hold off this designation and step up our joint efforts to deal decisively with these vicious and ever-growing organizations!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

The president said that although he was fully prepared to take the tough step against the cartels, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador asked him not to.

Trump said he liked and respected President Obrador, who has been working with him to help stop the flow of migrants crossing the Southern border of the United States.

Convicted Murderer Karmelo Anthony Now Begging Supporters for Another $250,000

New Mexico’s Dem Governor Triggered After Trump Jokingly Suggests New Name for Her State

Radical Muslim Kills Gay Pro-Palestine Activist Outside Gay Bar

WJ Straw Poll: Rubio Surges to Commanding Lead, Vance Cruises Past Massie

Alleged cryptoscam ringleader set for plea hearing in $240M bitcoin theft

Sherrill anti-ICE policy hammered after fleeing migrant driver injures Dem mayor’s wife

New California Bill Could Completely Disqualify Former ICE Agents from Public Employment

‘We’re Scared, Very Scared’: Weeping Spanish Girl Reveals Heartbreaking Reality of Mass Migration from Africa

Sen Jim Justice finds way through Senate polarization to bring WWII hero memorial to DC

Israel’s ambassador says NYC’s Mamdani is ‘sowing chaos’ ahead of Netanyahu’s UN appearance

Gary Sinise 9/11 documentary wants to inspire Americans with hope

Florida AG seeks death penalty for couple who allegedly held 4 children in ‘rolling prison’ for nearly 7 years

Former USCIS official, accomplice charged in alleged $960K citizenship bribery scheme

Dramatic video captures floodwaters bursting through glass doors of college students’ home

Trump appears to debut darker hair, sparking online buzz

President Trump was expected to meet with his advisers on Friday to discuss the designation, which he has been previewing for months.

“All necessary work has been completed to declare Mexican Cartels terrorist organizations,” he confirmed on Friday. “Statutorily we are ready to do so.”

The cartel slaughter of nine American citizens in Mexico last month — six children and three women — prompted Trump to speed up the process.

U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr met with Obrador on Thursday to discuss the president’s proposal, which the Mexican president criticized as “interventionism” and a “flagrant violation of our sovereignty.” Obrador also cited President Obama’s failed gunrunning operation “Fast and Furious” as an example of how the United States only made violence worse in Mexico.

In March, Trump told Breitbart News that he was thinking “very seriously” about the idea.

“It’s psychological, but it’s also economic,” Trump said about the cartels. “As terrorists — as terrorist organizations, the answer is yes. They are.

The designation would allow law enforcement to act swiftly against the cartels as well as target their weaponry and financial resources. The federal government would also be allowed to prosecute friends and family members of the cartels supporting them in the United States, as well as organized gangs such as MS-13.