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.

GOP lawmakers smell something else behind Big Tech’s AI doomsday warnings: ‘Something else going on’

Young swing-state voters cozy up to Democratic Socialists, say party establishment must ‘learn’ from DSA wins

European Leaders in Panic Mode Over Pete Hegseth’s Military Plans for the Region: Report

DEI Dies at Starbucks, but Not Before They Have to Pay Big Fine for Discrimination by Race, Sex in Florida

Ex-Dem insider reveals why Biden’s daughter threatened to sue her: ‘Bordered on parody’

Flock CEO, tech rivals called to testify before senators over AI camera privacy concerns

Federal judges reveal private coordination behind Trump immigration cases and more top headlines

Watch: Jelly Roll 2.0 – Blue Collar Comedy Legend Ron White Attacks TX Republicans – This After Trashing Trump Online

Watch: Teary Dem in Squad Car Asks God to Deliver Her from DUI Arrest – Apparently Doesn’t Know Her Party Officially Booted God in 2012

Congress is vulnerable to a paralyzing terrorist attack

Judge Judy warns of ‘danger’ if prosecutors don’t retry Lindsay Clancy after murder trial ends in mistrial

‘Unprecedented’: Judges reveal behind-the-scenes coordination on Trump immigration cases

Apple TV’s thriller ‘Last Seen’ is worth seeing

Barry Melrose, 1956-2026

Minnesota woman’s mugshot goes viral after social media users spot resemblance to Jennifer Lopez

See also Barry Melrose, 1956-2026

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.