Mexican President Pushes Back as Trump Seeks Terror Designation for Drug Cartels: 'Them In Their Territory, Us In Ours'

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday moving toward designating Mexican drug cartels and other Latin American criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations. The move, part of a series of actions targeting immigration and border security, its raising questions about its implications for U.S.-Mexico relations.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum reacted to the initiative on Tuesday, emphasizing that "we all want to fight the drug cartels." However, she drew a clear line to do so: "The U.S. in their territory, us in our territory," she added.

Trump's order highlighted non-Mexican groups such as Venezuela's Tren de Aragua and El Salvador's Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), claiming they pose a threat to U.S. safety and stability across the Western Hemisphere. It did not name specific Mexican cartels but instructed officials to recommend groups for designation within two weeks.

Critics fear the designation could open the door to military intervention in Mexico, something Sheinbaum has strongly opposed and Trump has not ruled out. Vanda Felbab-Brown, a crime expert at the Brookings Institution, said the move could also make it harder for migrants to seek asylum, according to Border Report. With cartels controlling migrant smuggling routes, asylum seekers paying fees to cartels could potentially disqualify themselves. "Trump can essentially prevent the vast majority of undocumented migrants from getting asylum," she said.

This isn't the first time the Republican president has promised to enact this designation upon these organizations. In late, 2019, Trump appeared close to designating Mexican cartels as terror organizations but held off at the request of then-Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. Since then, Republicans up and down the ballot have floated the idea, including introducing legislation that would make the designation official.

Using this designation could pave the way for the use of military force on Mexican soil. Republicans close to him have been touting a potential "soft invasion" of Mexico, which would entail sending troops across the border to eliminate cartel leaders and operatives.

During his 2024 campaign, Trump suggested he'd consider invading or bombing Mexico to fight drug cartels.

Back in July, Fox News's Jesse Watters asked Trump if he'd consider strikes against drug cartels operating in the country. Trump said yes, although the statement was also interpreted as a potential threat against the Mexican government in hopes of decreasing cartels' influence. "Mexico's gonna have to straighten it out really fast, or the answer is absolutely," Trump said.

The designation of drug cartels as terrorist organizations would need to be initiated by the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Attorney General and Treasury Secretary, and then submitted to Congress. The idea appears to be gaining traction among Republicans. Last week, during Florida Senator Marco Rubio's confirmation hearing for Secretary of State, Republican Senator Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania asked about the possibility of pursuing the designation. Rubio said that he, along with the President, would consider the 'tool' as a measure to address these criminal organizations.