The U.S. government has designated two more Mexican cartels, the Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras, as foreign terrorist organizations. The designations, published in the Federal Register, place these groups alongside six other Mexican criminal organizations already holding the label, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that both designated groups have either committed terrorist acts or pose a significant risk of committing acts that threaten U.S. nationals, national security, foreign policy, or the U.S. economy. This action represents an escalation of pressure on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's administration, following recent indictments of Mexican officials for alleged ties to the Sinaloa Cartel and ongoing controversies surrounding U.S. operations within Mexico.
The Juárez Cartel, one of Mexico's oldest drug trafficking organizations, has historically controlled a crucial border crossing point in Ciudad Juárez, across from El Paso, Texas. The cartel, founded by Amado Carrillo Fuentes, known as “El Señor de los Cielos,” built a substantial business trafficking drugs into the United States. Despite numerous arrests of its leaders, the organization and its affiliates have maintained infrastructure for illicit shipments.
Mexican analyst David Saucedo noted that this designation allows the U.S. to take more assertive actions along the border, particularly in areas where the Gulf Cartel and the Northeast Cartel, located at the eastern end of the Texas border, were previously designated as terrorist organizations in February 2025.
Los Viagras, operating in the western state of Michoacán, emerged after a 2013–2014 farmer uprising that displaced older cartels. This region is already home to two other designated groups: Cárteles Unidos and La Nueva Familia Michoacana. The cartel is reportedly led by Nicolás Sierra Santana, who faces federal drug trafficking conspiracy charges in Washington, D.C., and for whom the State Department has offered a $5 million reward.
The group has reportedly shifted allegiances and alliances to solidify territorial control through extortion and the production of synthetic drugs, which are then sold to other cartels for trafficking into the United States. President Donald Trump initiated the policy of extending the terrorist designation to Latin American cartels in February 2025, aiming to enable more aggressive actions against these groups and their perceived supporters.