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.
Maine Democrats walk a tightrope: Spurn Platner while courting his voters
Le Pen topping French polls and relieved of ankle monitor, touts ‘winning duo’ with Jordan Bardella
‘American houses are for American people’: Trump housing chief insists immigration crackdown will lower costs
Dems to investigate Kash Patel ‘luxury’ perks after GOP ally sought answers about FBI jet use, BMW purchases
‘Preaching as resistance’: Dem minister behind Satanist wedding now linked to anti-Trump sermon guide
Graham Platner Drops Out of Maine Senate Race
Fetterman Obliterates Bernie Sanders for Supporting Platner and Other ‘Communists’ – He ‘Needs to Apologize’
Biden-era enviro rule accused of strangling truckers, squeezing Americans lands on Trump chopping block
Fury erupts as US brand fires 1,600 employees after securing thousands of foreign worker visas
Who is running to replace Graham Platner?
Air Force rescinding 135 promotions after test scoring error: ‘This is going to be hard’
Viral Clip Proves Jasmine Crockett Still Can’t Blame Herself for Senate Primary Loss to Talarico: ‘It Was a Racist Race’
Watch: Trump Says Iranian Leaders Begging for New Deal But He’s Not Sure ‘They’re Worthy’
Trump says Democrats replacing Platner is ‘very hard for them to do’
Charlie Kirk family demands judge reveal hidden evidence from accused assassin’s hearing
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.
Maine Democrats walk a tightrope: Spurn Platner while courting his voters
Le Pen topping French polls and relieved of ankle monitor, touts ‘winning duo’ with Jordan Bardella
‘American houses are for American people’: Trump housing chief insists immigration crackdown will lower costs
Dems to investigate Kash Patel ‘luxury’ perks after GOP ally sought answers about FBI jet use, BMW purchases
‘Preaching as resistance’: Dem minister behind Satanist wedding now linked to anti-Trump sermon guide
Graham Platner Drops Out of Maine Senate Race
Fetterman Obliterates Bernie Sanders for Supporting Platner and Other ‘Communists’ – He ‘Needs to Apologize’
Biden-era enviro rule accused of strangling truckers, squeezing Americans lands on Trump chopping block
Fury erupts as US brand fires 1,600 employees after securing thousands of foreign worker visas
Who is running to replace Graham Platner?
Air Force rescinding 135 promotions after test scoring error: ‘This is going to be hard’
Viral Clip Proves Jasmine Crockett Still Can’t Blame Herself for Senate Primary Loss to Talarico: ‘It Was a Racist Race’
Watch: Trump Says Iranian Leaders Begging for New Deal But He’s Not Sure ‘They’re Worthy’
Trump says Democrats replacing Platner is ‘very hard for them to do’
Charlie Kirk family demands judge reveal hidden evidence from accused assassin’s hearing
….will temporarily hold off this designation and step up our joint efforts to deal decisively with these vicious and ever-growing organizations!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 6, 2019
Story cited here.
