Which Latin American Cartels The United States Now Treats As Terrorist Groups

For years, Washington talked about “drug cartels” and “organized crime.” Today, a growing number of those same groups are officially treated as foreign terrorist organizations.

The question is no longer just how much cocaine or fentanyl they move, but which Latin American cartels the United States now regards as terrorists.

At the center of the list are Mexico’s big players. The Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) dominate much of the fentanyl and meth trade into the U.S., while the Gulf Cartel and newer splinter groups control key border corridors.

In practice, the terrorist label allows U.S. authorities to hit not only traffickers and middlemen, but also financiers, shell companies and anyone accused of providing “material support.”

Further south, the line between crime, politics and insurgency has blurred. In Colombia, the ELN, FARC dissident factions and Segunda Marquetalia are still treated as terrorist structures, even after peace deals and negotiations.

In Venezuela, the prison-born Tren de Aragua has morphed into a transnational gang embedded in migrant routes and urban economies across the region.

The so-called Cartel de los Soles, allegedly built around senior officials and security officers, is now framed by Washington as a criminal network with terrorist status, turning the country’s leadership into targets of sanctions and potential international cases.

Central America’s street armies are also on the radar. MS-13 and Barrio 18, long associated with extortion, murder and control of poor neighborhoods, are now formally treated as terrorist groups by both local governments and the U.S. Ecuador’s Los Choneros and Los Lobos earned the same label after a wave of prison massacres and car bombs forced Quito to call an “internal armed conflict.”

In Haiti, coalitions such as Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif, which control roads, fuel depots and parts of Port-au-Prince, complete the picture.

For expats and foreign investors, this is not theoretical. Terror designations mean tougher banking checks, stricter border controls and more military-style operations.

They are also a sharp reminder of what happens when states tolerate corruption, politicize security forces and allow powerful armed groups to fill the vacuum.

List of Criminal Groups by Country

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error