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.

California Dems unleashed pressure campaign against USC prior to debate cancellation

Chicago Mayor Johnson unveils ‘Abolish ICE’ snowplow days after student allegedly murdered by illegal migrant

Watch: Actor Vince Vaughn Skewers Low-Rated Late-Night Hosts for Ruining Shows with Far-Left Politics

US Army raises enlistment age to 42 and eases marijuana policies to bolster ranks

Alleged narco-terrorists killed as US forces strike suspected drug-trafficking vessel in Caribbean

USC Cancels California Gubernatorial Debate After Only White Candidates Qualify

Iranian missiles could have hit DC from Venezuela before Trump move, Burgum warns

White House unleashes on Raskin for clinging to ‘deranged’ Jack Smith ‘lies’ in latest Trump docs flare-up

Keir Starmer-Nigel Farage blow-up in Parliament ends with Reform MPs storming out

CNN’s ‘Embarrassing’ On-Air ‘Experiment’ Is Not Going Over Well

Trump Says Iranian Leaders ‘Did Something That Was Amazing,’ Sent Him a ‘Very Big Present’

Biden political priorities impeded Iran negotiations, former secretary of state admits

Machado tells US oil giants Venezuela will become beacon of wealth creation after Trump ousted Maduro

Danish PM Frederiksen resigns after lackluster election for Social Democrats, Moderates seek to wield power

Why CPAC has a golden opportunity to reestablish itself as the ‘go-to conservative conference’

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.