Trump Administration Designates Juárez Cartel, Los Viagras as Foreign Terrorist Organizations

Key Facts

Published: July 16, 2026 Location: Washington D.C. Source: U.S. Federal Register, White House, U.S. Department of Justice, Associated Press

• The Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras are now officially classified as foreign terrorist organizations by the United States.
• The action gives federal prosecutors and national security agencies stronger tools to pursue the cartels and those providing them with material support.
• The designations bring the number of Mexican criminal organizations carrying the terrorist label to eight.

The move expands Washington’s campaign against violent Mexican drug networks operating near the Texas border and across western Mexico

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – The Trump administration has formally designated the Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras as foreign terrorist organizations, expanding the federal government’s effort to dismantle criminal networks accused of flooding American communities with illegal drugs and terrorizing populations on both sides of the southern border.

The designations took effect Thursday upon publication in the Federal Register. Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined there was sufficient evidence under federal law to classify both organizations, along with their known aliases, as foreign terrorist organizations.

The Juárez Cartel is also known as the Cartel de Juárez, La Línea, the Vicente Carrillo Fuentes Organization and Barrio Azteca. Los Viagras is also known as the Los Viagras Cartel, Cartel de Los Viagras and Los Blancos de Troya.

Trump Widens War Against Cartels

President Donald Trump began the process of treating major international cartels as terrorist organizations shortly after returning to office in January 2025.

In an executive order, Trump declared that cartels had become a national security threat extending far beyond conventional organized crime. The president said the groups use assassination, terror and brute force to control smuggling routes, intimidate communities and threaten the United States.

“It is the policy of the United States to ensure the total elimination of these organizations’ presence in the United States and their ability to threaten the territory, safety, and security of the United States,” the order stated.

The latest action adds the two organizations to six previously designated Mexican cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, the Northeast Cartel, Cárteles Unidos and La Nueva Familia Michoacana.

The foreign terrorist designation can expose individuals who knowingly provide material support to the organizations to serious federal criminal charges. It also strengthens the government’s ability to block financial networks, restrict travel and pursue cartel associates operating inside or outside the United States.

The designation itself does not automatically authorize U.S. military action inside Mexico.

Juárez Cartel Controls Critical Border Corridor

The Juárez Cartel is one of Mexico’s oldest and most deeply established drug-trafficking organizations.

For decades, the organization has fought to control Ciudad Juárez, a strategic border city located directly across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas. The corridor remains one of the most valuable routes for moving narcotics, people and illicit money between Mexico and the United States.

The cartel rose to prominence under Amado Carrillo Fuentes, known as “The Lord of the Skies” because of his use of aircraft to transport enormous quantities of narcotics during the 1990s.

Although arrests and internal conflicts weakened its central leadership, the cartel and affiliated gangs maintained extensive trafficking infrastructure along the border.

Its designation places additional pressure on criminal networks operating across Texas’ southern frontier. The Gulf Cartel and Northeast Cartel, which operate farther east along the Texas-Mexico border, were designated as terrorist organizations in February 2025.

Los Viagras Targeted in Michoacán

Los Viagras operates primarily in Michoacán, a violence-plagued state where cartels have battled for control of drug production, agricultural industries and local communities.

The organization emerged following armed civilian uprisings in 2013 and 2014 that drove older cartels from parts of the region. Some factions that arose from that unrest later evolved into heavily armed criminal organizations.

Los Viagras has used extortion, shifting alliances and armed violence to consolidate control over territory. The group is also accused of producing synthetic drugs that are supplied to larger cartels for trafficking into the United States.

U.S. authorities say the cartel is led by Nicolás Sierra Santana, also known as “El Gordo.” Sierra Santana was charged in the District of Columbia in connection with drug trafficking operations, and the State Department has offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.

Justice Department officials have previously accused Los Viagras and related Michoacán factions of using assault weapons, improvised explosive devices, armed drones, armored vehicles and foreign mercenaries to enforce cartel control.

Pressure Mounts on Mexican Government

The designation is likely to increase pressure on Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government as Washington demands greater cooperation against cartels, political corruption and cross-border drug trafficking.

The announcement comes amid continuing disputes over the extent to which U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies may operate against cartel targets inside Mexico.

Mexican leaders have traditionally resisted actions they believe could violate the country’s sovereignty. The Trump administration, however, has increasingly framed cartel violence, fentanyl trafficking and border infiltration as direct national security threats rather than ordinary law enforcement matters.

The latest designations demonstrate that Washington intends to place cartel leaders, financiers, smugglers and political protectors under the same legal pressure historically reserved for international terrorist networks.

For communities damaged by addiction, trafficking and cartel violence, the administration’s message is unmistakable: the United States is no longer treating the cartels merely as criminal businesses, but as organized enemies threatening the security and stability of the nation.

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