DESIGNATING CARTELS AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AS FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS AND SPECIALLY DESIGNATED GLOBAL TERRORISTS

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA),50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. it is hereby ordered:

Section 1.  Purpose.  This order creates a process by which certain international cartels (the Cartels) and other organizations will be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, consistent with section 219 of the INA (8 U.S.C. 1189), or Specially Designated Global Terrorists, consistent with IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702) and Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001 (Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten to Commit, or Support Terrorism), as amended.

(a)  International cartels constitute a national-security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime, with activities encompassing:

(i)    convergence between themselves and a range of extra-hemispheric actors, from designated foreign-terror organizations to antagonistic foreign governments;

(ii)   complex adaptive systems, characteristic of entities engaged in insurgency and asymmetric warfare; and

(iii)  infiltration into foreign governments across the Western Hemisphere.

The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs.

The Cartels functionally control, through a campaign of assassination, terror, rape, and brute force nearly all illegal traffic across the southern border of the United States.  In certain portions of Mexico, they function as quasi-governmental entities, controlling nearly all aspects of society.  The Cartels’ activities threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.  Their activities, proximity to, and incursions into the physical territory of the United States pose an unacceptable national security risk to the United States.

(b)  Other transnational organizations, such as Tren de Aragua (TdA) and La Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) pose similar threats to the United States.  Their campaigns of violence and terror in the United States and internationally are extraordinarily violent, vicious, and similarly threaten the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.

(c)  The Cartels and other transnational organizations, such as TdA and MS-13, operate both within and outside the United States.  They present an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.  I hereby declare a national emergency, under IEEPA, to deal with those threats.

Sec. 2.  Policy.  It is the policy of the United States to ensure the total elimination of these organizations’ presence in the United States and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States through their extraterritorial command-and-control structures, thereby protecting the American people and the territorial integrity of the United States.

Sec. 3.  Implementation.  (a)  Within 14 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of State shall take all appropriate action, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, to make a recommendation regarding the designation of any cartel or other organization described in section 1 of this order as a Foreign Terrorist Organization consistent with 8 U.S.C. 1189 and/or a Specially Designated Global Terrorist consistent with 50 U.S.C. 1702 and Executive Order 13224.

(b)  Within 14 days of the date of this order, the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take all appropriate action, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to make operational preparations regarding the implementation of any decision I make to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, 50 U.S.C. 21 et seq., in relation to the existence of any qualifying invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States by a qualifying actor, and to prepare such facilities as necessary to expedite the removal of those who may be designated under this order.

Sec. 4.  General Provisions.  (a)  Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i)   the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or

(ii)  the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b)  This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.

(c)  This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

January 20, 2025.

These are the words that the White House released about the cartels. Trump designating the Mexican Cartels as terrorists is nothing short of declaring another new war or an extension of the failed war on drugs. It would be wise to learn the history of such actions and learn from the past. For Trump to be triumphant here, America will need to take heed of the history of directly taking the cartels on. The destination is new, but using the United States military to fight the drug war is not. Let us take a look at the past together.

Pablo Escobar is often considered the most infamous drug cartel kingpin, and his rise in the 1970s and 1980s marked a significant moment in the history of the global drug trade. However, the history of drug cartels and their leaders started well before Escobar’s reign. Escobar’s Medellín Cartel became a global symbol of the drug trade due to its enormous influence, violence, and the sheer scale of its operations, but other drug lords and organizations were also prominent during and before his time.

Before cocaine became the dominant product of Latin American cartels, the drug trade involved other substances like opium and marijuana. Smuggling networks already existed in the early 20th century, often tied to regional agriculture and local crime groups in Mexico and the Andean regions, particularly in Colombia and Bolivia, where coca leaves are indigenous. In the mid-20th century, Havana, Cuba, was a significant hub for the international drug trade. During the era of mob influence in Cuba (the 1940s–1950s), drug smuggling to the United States was connected to organized crime families, including the American mafia.

Escobar began his criminal career in the 1970s as a smuggler before focusing on cocaine production and export. He co-founded the Medellín Cartel, which grew to dominate the cocaine market, particularly in the United States. Escobar’s approach was unprecedented. He controlled large portions of Colombia through bribery, violence, and assassination, leading to a massive body count, including law enforcement officials, judges, and politicians. Escobar was one of the wealthiest men in the world at the height of his power, earning billions of dollars annually.

In the early 1980s, Escobar sought legitimacy by entering politics, briefly serving as an alternate member of Colombia’s Congress. His political ambitions were ultimately thwarted, but this moment symbolized the blending of crime and politics in Colombia. Escobar’s reign ended in 1993 when Colombian security forces killed him after years of international pressure and a sustained manhunt.

After Escobar’s death, the Cali Cartel, led by the Rodríguez Orejuela brothers, took over much of the drug trade. The Cali Cartel was less violent but more organized and business-like than the Medellín Cartel. They also fell to Colombian and U.S. law enforcement in the late 1990s. As Colombian cartels were dismantled, Mexican drug trafficking organizations, like the Sinaloa Cartel and Tijuana Cartel, began to rise in prominence. Mexican cartels, particularly the Sinaloa Cartel under Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, would dominate the drug trade by controlling key smuggling routes into the United States. El Chapo and the Modern Cartels: El Chapo became the most famous drug lord after Escobar, especially due to his multiple prison escapes and the violence that erupted in Mexico due to cartel infighting. His cartel played a major role in trafficking cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines, and marijuana into the U.S.

Other Notable Cartel Figures are Griselda Blanco (“The Black Widow”) A key figure in the Miami cocaine trade during the 1970s and 1980s, Blanco was one of the most powerful and violent drug traffickers of her time. Known for brutal enforcement tactics, she predated Escobar but operated alongside him for a time. Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (“The Godfather”) He was instrumental in the formation of modern Mexican cartels, creating the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1980s. After his arrest in 1989, the cartel split into factions, many of which would evolve into today’s powerful drug organizations.

Frank Lucas was an infamous American drug dealer who rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s in Harlem, New York. He is best known for establishing a heroin empire and using innovative tactics to smuggle drugs directly from Southeast Asia, bypassing traditional mafia-controlled supply chains.

Born in 1930 in North Carolina, Lucas moved to New York City and got involved in street crime. He worked under Harlem crime boss Ellsworth “Bumpy” Johnson, learning the ins and outs of the heroin trade. After Johnson’s death, Lucas sought to control the heroin trade in Harlem. He pioneered a strategy of cutting out the Italian mafia middlemen by directly sourcing heroin from the Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia. Lucas famously claimed that he smuggled heroin into the U.S. using coffins of American soldiers killed in the Vietnam War, though this has been disputed.

Lucas’s heroin, branded “Blue Magic,” was known for its high purity and was sold at a lower price than competitors. This gave him dominance in the New York drug market. At the peak of his operation, he was making millions of dollars a day. In 1975, Lucas was arrested as part of a massive federal investigation. He was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 70 years in prison. However, he cooperated with authorities, providing information on corrupt police officers and other drug dealers, leading to a reduction in his sentence.

Frank was released in 1981 but later served additional time for new charges in 1984. Frank Lucas’s story was dramatized in the 2007 film “American Gangster,” starring Denzel Washington. While his life was sensationalized in popular culture, Lucas’s operation was one of the most powerful drug empires in Harlem during its time, and his strategy of cutting out middlemen was unique in the drug trade. Though his empire was short-lived, Lucas remains a symbol of the intersection between organized crime, drugs, and law enforcement corruption in the 1970s U.S.

While Pablo Escobar’s story is iconic and central to the history of drug cartels, he was neither the first nor the last major player in the global drug trade. His rise and fall were part of a much larger and ongoing story involving numerous cartels and kingpins across Latin America and the world. Today, the legacy of Escobar and the Medellín Cartel is reflected in the continued power and brutality of modern cartels, especially in Mexico. Growing up on the streets and beaches of South Florida I have firsthand experience with what was called “The Florida Snow Bizzard” and the “Cocaine Cowboys”  growing up. Watching today what is going on at the Southern Border it is fair to ask, where did all that taxpayer money go that was spent on America’s so-called War on Drugs? I can’t help but feel we have been scammed. I will cross my fingers that Trump’s actions here will not be more of the same or history repeating itself.

C. Rich

CRich@AmericaSpeaksInk.com

C. Rich

C. Rich is the voice behind America Speaks Ink, home to the America First Movement. As an author, poet, freelance ghostwriter, and blogger, C. Rich brings a “baked-in” perspective shaped by growing up on the streets and beaches of South Florida in the 1970s-1980s and brings a quintessential Generation-X point of view.

Rich’s writing journey began in 2008 with coverage of the Casey Anthony trial and has since evolved into a wide-ranging exploration of politics, culture, and the issues that define our times. Follow C. Rich’s writing odyssey here at America Speaks Ink and on Amazon with a multi-book series on Donald Trump called “Trump Era: The MAGA Files” and many other books and subjects C. Rich is known to cover.

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