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By Dan Gooding and Gabe Whisnant
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced Thursday that she will propose constitutional reforms to strengthen Mexico's sovereignty following President Donald Trump's administration's designation of eight Mexican drug cartels and criminal gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.
The U.S. decision has sparked concern in Mexico, with officials fearing it could be a precursor to potential U.S. military action on Mexican soil to target the cartels—a move Mexico strongly opposes.
"The Mexican people will not accept under any circumstances interventions, interference or any other act from abroad that could be harmful to the integrity, independence and sovereignty of the nation," Sheinbaum said.
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Why It Matters
The move from the Trump administration stemmed from a promise by the U.S. president that he would be harsher on illegal immigrant criminals, in particular the cartels and gangs, than his predecessor once he returned to the White House. The promise, along with other tougher measures on immigration, received backing from both Republican and Democrat voters.
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What To Know
On Thursday, the U.S. Federal Register published the designation of eight Latin American criminal organizations, following a January 20 executive order by President Trump. Typically reserved for terrorist groups with political motives, the designation aims to increase pressure on these organizations despite their primarily economic objectives.
The groups, including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua (TdA), have been behind multiple serious and violent crimes across the U.S. in recent years. While TdA originated in Venezuela, and MS-13 initially began in Los Angeles with ties to other Latin American countries, the others all have ties to Mexico.
Designating these groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) could allow military action against them, in a similar way to how the U.S. had dealt with other groups in this category, such as the Taliban and Hamas.
It has not been made clear if U.S. troops could be sent to Mexico or other Latin American countries where the groups originate, but Trump did threaten to drop bombs on the groups' known locations during the election campaign.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told Newsweek that there was strong cooperation with Mexico and other countries across the Americas to combat the groups given the new designation.
They also said that the U.S. military had not been given any additional powers under the new designations.
The move could have an impact on immigration, also, as any individual who pays a member of an FTO for help getting across the U.S.-Mexico border could now be viewed as supporting a group's terrorist activity, making them ineligible for entry into the U.S.
Allowing immigrants to stay in Mexico, in the grip of the cartels and gangs who often attack and extort vulnerable groups, could also be an international problem for the U.S. if it is seen they are allowing the abuse to continue, now at the hands of terrorists.
During her daily press briefing, Sheinbaum reaffirmed that Mexico will not permit foreign involvement in investigations or prosecutions without the explicit authorization and cooperation of the Mexican government.
Her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, had already enacted laws limiting foreign agents' independence and requiring Mexican authorities to be notified of their activities. Sheinbaum now seeks to enshrine these restrictions in the constitution to further safeguard Mexico's sovereignty.
Sheinbaum's administration has also proposed constitutional reforms to impose the harshest legal penalties on foreigners involved in gun manufacturing, smuggling and distribution. Mexico has long pressed the U.S. to curb the flow of firearms from American gun shops and manufacturers, which fuel violence across the country.
What People Are Saying
Sheinbaum, at her Thursday press conference: "What we want to make clear in the face of this designation is that we do not negotiate sovereignty. This cannot be an opportunity for the United States to invade our sovereignty."
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a press release Thursday: "The intent of designating these cartels and transnational organizations as terrorists is to protect our nation, the American people, and our hemisphere. That means stopping the campaigns of violence and terror by these vicious groups both in the United States and internationally. These designations provide law enforcement additional tools to stop these groups.
"Terrorist designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective way to curtail support for terrorist activities. Today's actions taken by the State Department demonstrate the Trump Administration's commitment to protecting our national security interests and dismantling these dangerous organizations."
Vanda Felbab-Brown, director of the Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors at the Brookings Institute, told Newsweek on Tuesday: "Threatening tariffs and FTO designations pressured Mexico to strengthen law enforcement and cooperate with the U.S. However, if tariffs remain in place for too long or the FTO designation is enforced, it could damage U.S.-Mexico relations and hurt the U.S. economy."
President Donald Trump said in the Oval Office in January: "[The cartels are] killing our people. They're killing 250,000 to 300,000 American people a year."
What's Next
With her Morena party and its allies holding majorities in both chambers of Congress, Sheinbaum has successfully pushed through several constitutional reforms, positioning her administration to advance this latest proposal.
Reporting by The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Update: 2/20/25, 11:12 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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