For the first time in United States history, a number of international drug cartels have been designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), akin to groups like al-Qaeda, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, and the Islamic State. The move, announced by the Trump administration on Wednesday, is a significant escalation against the drug cartels—predominantly located in Mexico and South America. Additionally, the designation expands the type of actions the U.S. government has at its disposal to combat them.

Two of the most prominent cartel groups named in the designation are the violent Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua (TdA), and Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel—one of the largest drug trafficking operations in the world. The National Pulse has previously reported that President Donald J. Trump and his administration have made the arrest and deportation of TdA members a priority as part of his mass deportation program. Several hundred TdA members have already been apprehended and either sent to the migrant facility located on the U.S. military installation at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or returned to Venezuela.

Other gangs and cartels listed in the FTO designation include Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, United Cartels—also known as the La Resistencia gang, Cartel of the Northeast—a splinter group of the Zetas, the Gulf Cartel, and The New Michoacan Family.

The designations, issued by the State Department, come just after it was revealed the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has begun using MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico to monitor drug cartels and their activities. The presence of drones could portend U.S.-authorized strikes and other military actions against these criminal organizations.

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