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.

Nebraska K9 sniffs out 525 pounds of cocaine during routine traffic stop, leading to California man’s arrest

EXCLUSIVE: Veterans turn war stories into music at Trump Kennedy Center in powerful patriotic showcase

Trump Debuts Brutal Cartoon Nickname for James Talarico to Kick Off Texas Senate General Election

Peak Woke: Rape Can’t Be Committed by Blacks, Muslims, or Women, According to Neo-Marxist Insanity

Conservatives erupt after DNC lashes out at top White House official with vulgar personal attack

US military carries out new strikes against Iranian military base as negotiations continue

Your Christian Family Is Being Hunted Like Animals and Exterminated in Nigeria – Will You Ignore It?

Trump says Delaney Hall protesters are ‘paid’ as clashes escalate outside NJ ICE facility

Talarico makes stunning claim about why he thinks Texas elections aren’t ‘free and fair’

Watch: Fox Host Responds with Open Disgust as Anti-ICE Antagonist Attacks a Reporter for Daring to Video Their Behavior

Seattle socialist mayor mocked for ‘irony’ as residents build walls to stop out of control shootings

Chaotic border chase ends with illegal immigrants found crammed in semitruck sleeping area

Video shows illegal aliens found crammed inside semi-truck sleeper cab in alleged smuggling bust

DOJ sues UCLA over alleged ‘Judenrein’ conditions during anti-Israel encampment

EXCLUSIVE: DHS blasts sanctuary leaders after illegal immigrant accused of bat attack freed from jail

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.