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.

Meet the Democrats hoping to flip Virginia’s most competitive House seats in November

Another Grocery Chain Answers Trump’s Call, Cuts Prices on Over 300 Items to Help Americans Still Suffering from Bidenflation

Watch This Rising Dem Star Collapse When Asked if She’s Pro-Thanksgiving – Her Answer Makes Kamala Look Like a Genius

Virginia voters cement swing-district rematch after Dems’ redistricting fail

Virginia Senate race to battle top intel Dem takes shape after redistricting delays

Senate GOP agenda on budget bill and SAVE America Act threatened by uncertainty

Trump trade adviser seeks full court rehearing in Jan. 6 committee contempt case

Beloved NC gas station clerk allegedly killed by registered sex offender after vanishing from home: deputies

Alarming missile report draws forceful response from Trump as Iran war tests America’s arsenal

Former soldier indicted on charges of ‘calculated’ arson attack on federal Manhattan building

Iranian experts estimate economic losses from Operation Epic Fury at $280 billion

Pirro throws drops charges in three more Reflecting Pool vandalism cases amid Trump outrage

Trump admin trucking crackdown lands 51 immigration detentions, 36 English language proficiency violations

Rosie O’Donnell Announces She’s Returning to ‘The View’ Despite ‘Tense Time with Whoopi’

Washington wildfire arson suspect previously charged with first-degree murder, records show

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.