International

What are the six Mexican cartels designated as terrorist groups by the United States?

The US Government officially designated six Mexican drug trafficking cartels as terrorist groups on Thursday, an order that complies with a decree signed by US President Donald Trump during his first day in office, on January 20.

Through a document from the Federal Registry of the United States it was announced that the Sinaloa Cartel (CDS), the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Northwest Cartel (CDN), the Gulf Cartel (CDG), La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM) and Carteles Unidos (CU) are the drug trafficking organizations identified as terrorists.

In Mexico, for decades, these drug cartels have generated violence and have networks that expand to the United States, Central America, South America and Europe, in addition to criminal cells dedicated to other crimes such as human trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.

Also known as the Pacific Cartel and founded in 1989, it is one of the oldest in Mexico, it is based in the state of Sinaloa (northwest) and is considered the largest and the one with the greatest presence in the United States.

It was led by capo Joaquín “el Chapo” Guzmán, who was considered the most powerful drug trafficker in the world and was sentenced to life imprisonment in the United States. After Guzmán’s capture in 2016, Ismael ‘el Mayo’ Zambada remained at the head of the organization until his arrest in US territory in 2024.

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Currently, the organization lives a confrontation, since September 2024, between the criminal cells of Los Chapitos and Los Mayos, after the delivery in the United States of co-founder Zambada, which has caused more than 800 homicides in Sinaloa.

Former armed arm of the Sinaloa Cartel to fight the Zetas, it became independent of the parent organization and began operating in 2011 under the leadership of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes “el Mencho”, one of the most wanted criminals in Mexico and the United States, with a reward of up to 15 million dollars for information about his whereabouts.

It is the fastest growing poster and one of the most violent in Mexico. Based in the city of Guadalajara, it operates practically throughout the country.

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the CJNG distributes cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl throughout the United States.

Active since the 1980s, he had great influence in the north and east of the country, but weakened by splits and currently focuses on the state of Tamaulipas and, according to reports, has a presence in the state of Quintana Roo, in the Mexican Caribbean.

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Based in Tamaulipas, a state bordering the United States, the CDG dominated the decade of the 1990s, under the command of its former leader Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, who served a sentence in the United States and was extradited to Mexico to serve prison sentences for various crimes.

The Zetas were the military arm of the Gulf Cartel but split from the organization, with which they had a bloody war in 2010 for control of northeastern Mexico and achieved the dominance of drug trafficking in much of the country. In 2016, the Zetas fractured and gave rise to the Northeast Cartel.

This drug trafficking gang is based in the city of Nuevo Laredo (Tamaulipas) and its influence covers the states of Nuevo León, Coahuila and San Luis Potosí.

It is a violent organization based in Michoacán, on the Mexican Pacific coast, operating in the states of Guerrero, Morelos and the State of Mexico. Its precedent, the Michoacana Family was the group that expelled the Zetas from Michoacán, during the first decade of the 21st century.

The organization was precisely one of the objectives of President Felipe Calderón (2006-2012) in his declared ‘War on Drug Traffic Coding’ that boosted violence in Mexico.

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The organization was weakened by the death of its leader, Nazario Moreno González “el Chayo” in 2014, and by the internal split of the Knights Templar, who have also been diminished by the arrest or death of their leaders.

According to the US State Department, this cartel is a violent organization that was formed from an alliance of several cartels and other criminal groups in the state of Michoacán.

The criminal organization involves the Tepalcatepec Cartel, the Abuelo Cartel and the Los Reyes Cartel. According to investigations, the Tepalcatepec Cartel has Juan José ‘El Abuelo’ Farías as leader; and the Los Reyes Cartel has Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez, alias ‘Wicho de Los Reyes’, with influence in the Tierra Caliente region (southwest).

Its main objective is to prevent the arrival of the CJNG to the Michoacán region.

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International

Two killed in shooting at restaurant near Frankfurt Airport

Two people were shot dead early Tuesday at a restaurant in Raunheim, near Frankfurt Airport, according to local police.

Preliminary findings indicate that an armed individual entered the establishment at around 03:45 local time (02:45 GMT) and opened fire on the victims, who died at the scene from their injuries.

The suspect fled and remains at large, while the motive behind the shooting is still unclear, German media reported. Authorities have launched a large-scale search operation.

International

U.S. counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to war in Iran

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced Tuesday that he has resigned from his post, citing his opposition to the ongoing war in Iran.

In a post on X, Kent said he could not, “in good conscience,” support the conflict, arguing that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the United States. He also claimed that the war was driven by pressure from Israel and its lobbying influence in Washington.

In a resignation letter addressed to Donald Trump, Kent alleged that at the start of the current administration, senior Israeli officials and influential figures in U.S. media carried out a disinformation campaign that undermined the “America First” platform and fostered pro-war sentiment aimed at triggering a conflict with Iran.

Kent further stated that he could not support sending a new generation of Americans to “fight and die in a war that provides no benefit to the American people and does not justify the cost in American lives.”

Since the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran on February 28, at least 13 U.S. service members have been killed, while 10 others have been seriously wounded and around 200 have sustained minor injuries, according to a report published by The Wall Street Journal.

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International

German president warns Iran war could spread and disrupt Strait of Hormuz

The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, warned Monday that the war involving Iran could expand and further disrupt shipping through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. He urged a swift end to hostilities between Iran, United States and Israel.

Speaking in Panama City during a joint appearance with Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, Steinmeier said available information suggests Iran has significant capacity to disrupt maritime traffic through the key oil route.

“Iran has considerable potential to interfere with shipping through the Strait of Hormuz,” Steinmeier said through an interpreter. “We should therefore reach an end to the hostilities as soon as possible and call on all parties involved to make that happen.”

The remarks came during Steinmeier’s visit to Panama, the first by a German president to the Central American nation.

The German leader described the possibility of the conflict spreading as “very dangerous,” saying recent developments indicate that such a scenario cannot be ruled out.

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Over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump urged allied nations to help ensure safe passage for ships through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran moved to block the waterway in response to U.S. strikes. However, several allies—particularly in Europe—have shown little support for the proposal.

“Some are very enthusiastic, others are not, and some are countries we have helped for many years,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “We have protected them from terrible external threats, and they’re not that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm is important to me.”

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s top diplomat, said the Strait of Hormuz falls “outside NATO’s scope” and stressed that “the war involving Iran is not Europe’s war.”