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.

Rhode Island judge faces misconduct complaint over attacks on DOJ lawyers

Republicans question Trump’s ‘privately funded’ ballroom after report points to taxpayer burden

WATCH: Unearthed video shows leftist Senate hopeful celebrating anti-fossil fuel group’s arrival in Texas

Delaware hospital shooting suspect identified, faces multiple charges including first-degree murder

Sick: PBS Bigwig Appears to Keep Job After Publicly Wishing Stroke on Trump in Deranged Birthday Message

Leftist Professor Goes Viral by Admitting the Hard Truth – Trump Has Destroyed Their Dreams and the Democratic Party Too

Judge reveals Luigi Mangione will pursue psychiatric defense in UnitedHealthcare CEO assassination case

12 Key Points on Iran Peace Deal Revealed, as Trump Says He’ll Likely Read It to Media So They Get It Right

Pentagon Sends Coast Guard to Rescue 2 Survivors After Latest Deadly Strike on Narco-Terrorists in Pacific

Oklahoma Democrats face runoff showdown in race for deep-red Senate seat

Deadly B-52 crash puts focus on engines, controllability as investigators hunt for answers

Trump says Senate hearing on DNI nominee is cancelled until US attorney replacement confirmed

Trump DNI pick braces for Senate grilling as temporary stand-in fuels Dem pressure

5 chilling details from the alleged White House attack plot tied to UFC event

Canadian tourism to US begins to rebound after 51st state, tariffs debacle

See also Trump arrives for UFC fight

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.