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.

Trump says US, Israel shattered Iranian military capabilities, presses leaders to surrender: ‘Cry uncle’

Armed Officers Rushed Onboard Flight Forced to Land with Guns Drawn After ‘Security Scare’

Flashback: 11 Years Ago Marco Rubio Correctly Predicted How Obama’s Iran Move Would Backfire

Iran still striking Gulf States despite president’s promise not to: Report

Trump tells Starmer aircraft carriers no longer needed in Mideast, accuses him of joining war US ‘already won’

Arizona governor vetoes Charlie Kirk memorial license plate sparking GOP outrage: ‘This bill falls short’

NYC Mayor Mamdani’s wife liked social media post calling Oct 7 sexual violence investigation a ‘hoax’: report

Noem thanks Trump for new Shield of the Americas special envoy role after DHS ouster

Trump and first lady attend dignified transfer for 6 US troops killed in Kuwait

Supreme Court Will Hear Lawsuit Over Blaming Oil Companies for Climate Change

White House’s bombastic Iran war media blitz breaks from precedent, shocking critics

Farage slams British prime minister for ‘extraordinary’ lack of support for Trump’s Iran strikes

‘Smarter Than Most of You!’: Biden Launches Bizarre Defense of His Stuttering at Jesse Jackson Memorial Service

Brutal Numbers: Schools Spent $30 Billion on Laptops… and They Seem to Have Made Kids Dumber

Trump Warns ‘Loser of the Middle East’ Iran That ‘Complete Destruction and Certain Death’ Is Imminent

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.