Trump's terrorist designations trigger raids, prosecutions and Maduro capture

President Donald Trump issued an executive order that expanded the State Department’s foreign terrorist organization list to include 21 drug-related gangs and cartels across the Caribbean and Latin America, such as the CJNG, MS-13 and the Sinaloa Cartel. The designation enabled the Pentagon to bomb vessels suspected of trafficking drugs and allowed the Department of Justice to file material-support-for-terrorism charges against members of Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG, resulting in multiple convictions.

A Mexican national pleaded guilty to supplying weapons to CJNG, and a Chinese national extradited from Guatemala admitted to smuggling cocaine for the same group. The strategy also underpinned the January capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who now faces a New York federal trial on narco-terrorism and related counts. Secretary of State Marco Rubio reported that some foreign governments have begun labeling transnational crime groups as terrorists in response. Critics question the legality of the bombings, while the administration argues they are a lawful act of self-defense against a threat it likens to ISIS.