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.

Luigi Mangione supporter working for far-left DC mayoral candidate likened to Mamdani

South Carolina personal trainer goes missing, last spotted walking toward wooded area

Watch: JD Vance Explains How Iran Deal Is ‘Fundamentally’ Different Than Obama’s JCPOA

Vance shares how he’s gearing up for lion’s den debut on ‘The View’

Trump’s Iran deal sparks GOP demands for vote as Congress remains in the dark

NC School Pays Dearly After Admin Wildly Bullied Student Who Wrote Sweet Message About Charlie Kirk

FBI thwarts explosive drone attack against UFC Freedom 250 fight

Trump says he had a ‘very good meeting’ with Zelensky at G7

Pentagon files reveal agents’ reports of ‘orbs launching orbs’ near sensitive US security site

FBI disrupts alleged explosive-drone plot targeting White House UFC event, officials say

Multiple Sources Confirm GOP Senator Attempted IVF Expansion During NDAA Talks

Trump Comes Out Against FISA ‘If it Doesn’t Come with the Save America Act,’ Complicating Congressional Showdown

Is AI Making Us Dumb?

Trump admin puts alleged ‘birth tourism’ scheme on notice as expert delivers warning to hospitals

Teen accused of killing stepsister on Carnival cruise ship ordered detained before murder trial

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.