• U.S. Foreign Policy
• United States
• Catherine Osborn

February 21, 2025, 1:07 PM View Comments ()

The U.S. government designated eight Latin American organized crime groups as international terrorist organizations on Thursday. They include six Mexico-based groups, Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, and Central America’s MS-13.

Trump has repeatedly warned about the dangers posed by such groups. But organized crime experts caution against terrorist designations.

For at least some of the groups, such a designation seems disproportionate. Tren de Aragua is most active outside the United States, said InSight Crime’s Mike LaSusa, who tracks the group. On U.S. soil, its limited presence mostly targets the Venezuelan migrant community—“nothing that is threatening sort of general public security here in the U.S.,” he said.

Furthermore, terrorist designations open the door to unilateral U.S. military action against the crime groups. Unilateral steps “would drastically worsen security because they would be a big obstacle to cooperation,” said Eduardo Guerrero of Mexican consultancy Lantia. “If Mexico is not participating in security policies to combat Mexico-based organized crime, it’s not going to be very effective.”

Read more in today’s Latin America Brief: Bolsonaro Charged With Plotting Coup