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.

Virginia Dems Make Glaring Errors In Rushed Court Motion To Save Gerrymandering Scheme

Hegseth says Pentagon will review Mark Kelly’s public statements about classified briefing amid ongoing feud

Rebukes of Trump’s Pick for FDA Head Miss One Critical Fact

Union-funded anti-Spencer Pratt ad sparks backlash as critics say it could help him

Students’ pre-prom gathering turns into deadly nightmare as bullets fly

Marco Rubio Reveals the Message He Delivered Pope Leo During ‘Important Meeting’ at Vatican

Mom charged with child abuse after toddler found with tattoo in ‘deplorable’ home: cops

Trump says US helped secure release of 5 prisoners in Belarus deal, thanks Lukashenko

Savannah Guthrie urges public to help find missing mother Nancy in emotional Mother’s Day post

Kristin Smart search ends with no remains found as detectives analyze evidence

Watch: MLB Team Makes ‘Middle School Mistake’ As Season Continues to Spiral

Biden seeks to block DOJ release of 2017 audio, court filing says

Should ‘The View’ Be Considered News? ABC and FCC Go to Battle Over Embattled Show

Major Evangelic Denomination Sees Memberships Fall Amid Debates Over Female Pastors, Growing Distrust

Alert: African Islamists to Begin Executing Christian Women and Children from Group of 416 Recently Kidnapped Hostages

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.