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.

Trump blames ‘VANDALS’ for damaging National Mall grass after World War II Memorial graffiti

Tupac Shakur murder trial kicks off as Duane ‘Keffe D’ Davis faces jury nearly three decades after shooting

Texas Man Kills Alleged Intruder in Shootout – Police Say Suspect Had a Protective Order Filed Against Him

Cops Address Foul Play Questions After Actress Hayden Panettiere Found Dead at Age 36

US awards Raytheon $22.9B Tomahawk deal as Trump dismisses weapons stockpile concerns

Actress Hayden Panettiere dies suddenly at age 36 and more top headlines

CEO says doing business in state ‘sucks’ as company heads to Texas amid California exodus

Far-left politicians still using ActBlue as 88-year-old disputes donating nearly $150,000 to fundraising giant

As Pelosi’s exit nears, San Francisco Democratic candidates fight over what comes next

Russell Fry endorses ex-rival Darline Graham after failing to advance to special GOP US Senate primary runoff

Homeland Security investigated Minnesota labor unions as part of ‘terrorist financing’ probe in anti-ICE antifa case: Court documents

Trump blames vandals for dead grass on National Mall where he hosted 4th of July celebration

NYPD officers fatally shoot man armed with butcher knife after he advanced toward cops: police

Louisiana man accused of killing wife, propping her body up for multistate drive

Todd Blanche backs Jeanine Pirro after Lincoln Memorial pool vandalism case dismissal

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.