Mexican authorities were seeking a high-level meeting with their U.S. counterparts Tuesday following President Trump’s revelation that Washington planned to designate Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. “Absolutely, they will be designated,” Trump said of the Mexican cartels, according to a transcript of the radio interview posted on O’Reilly’s website. Many in Mexico, however, worry that a formal U.S. designation of Mexican cartels as terrorist groups could lead to greater U.S. interference in Mexico’s internal affairs. Mexican authorities have repeatedly stressed that illicit drugs shipped via Mexico are destined for the U.S. market and that guns and cash bound for cartels enter Mexico from U.S. territory. It was unclear if the State Department — which is the U.S. government agency tasked with designating groups as “foreign terrorist organizations” — had yet alerted Congress of its intention to name Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups.

Source: Los Angeles Times November 27, 2019 05:15 UTC