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.

DOJ discovers more than 1M potential Epstein records, further delaying file release

Post-Christmas Disaster: How 26 Million Pounds of Molasses Killed or Injured 170 in the Streets of Boston in 1919

Pentagon to send 350 National Guard troops to New Orleans as violent crime surges ahead of major events

Greta Thunberg Arrested After Caught Supporting Literal Anti-Jewish Terrorist Org – This Is the Kid the Left Platformed as a God for Years

California farming tycoon arrested in wife’s killing

Massie questions control of DOJ X account after report alleged White House takeover

New charges against DC National Guard shooting suspect open death penalty door

Shock and Awe: Fiery Rubio Imposes Unprecedented Sanctions on European Elites Who Attempted to Censor Americans

US Set to See Largest One-Year Decline in Murders in History: Crime Expert

Democrats warn Trump green-lighting Nvidia AI chip sales could boost China’s military edge

Australian state passes tighter gun restrictions after Bondi Beach attack

Prominent Rhode Island Democrat caught on video telling officer, ‘You know who I am?’ during DUI stop

European leaders erupt over US travel ban of officials involved in Digital Services Act

Two more senior Heritage Foundation fellows resign as exodus continues

Bill Maher Eviscerates Pro-Palestinian Leftists Who Ignore Islamist Violence: ‘You’re a Joke’

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.