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.

‘He Was Licking His Lips With the Blood’ – Witness to Would-Be Beheading in N. Ireland Shares Grotesque Details

House Dem lashes out at GOP efforts to probe foreign donations with stunning claim on motive

Video: Christian Coffee Shop Hosts Worship as Vicious Trans Activists Scream, Attack Right Outside Their Door

‘Squad’ Dem dismisses fraud probe speculation after $29M net-worth drop

WATCH: Hearing turmoil as Jasmine Crockett unloads on MLK’s niece in wild racially-charged rant

Nancy Mace Announces Next Career Move After Losing South Carolina Gov. Primary

Karmelo Anthony isolated in jail as track meet killer appeals conviction, preps for prison stint

Video: Infuriated by Immigrant’s Attempted Beheading, Irish Citizens Set Fires Across Belfast

Obama-appointed judge with ties to anti-Trump conspiracy theory hit with misconduct complaint

Pregnant mother found murdered in Mexico as frantic search for missing children ends with surprise discovery

Senate Democrats urge a reluctant party to embrace Platner

First on Fox: Trump admin opens new front in fraud crackdown targeting health insurers, drug middlemen

God Help Us: Donations Continued to Roll in for Karmelo Anthony After He Was Convicted of Murder

GRAPHIC LANGUAGE: ‘This Is a War,’ ‘Both … Brothers Should Be Dead!’ – Chilling Videos from Karmelo Anthony Supporters Outside Courthouse

Trump concession breathes new life into stalled FISA spy powers deal

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.