Yesterday, I joined Tracy Sabol on EWTN News Nightly to discuss an issue that has been long overdue for serious policy action—the designation of Latin American drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) by the Trump administration.
For years, policymakers have treated these cartels as if they were just criminal syndicates engaged in narco-trafficking. That view was always narrow and outdated. The reality is that these groups function more like transnational terrorist organizations than simple crime networks. They control vast regions of Mexico, co-opt political institutions, intimidate the press, assassinate officials, and leverage extreme violence to enforce their rule—just like Hezbollah, Hamas, or ISIS.
This is not an exaggeration. Just this week, one of these cartel leaders, from a U.S. federal prison, issued a direct threat to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, warning that if he was not released, Mexico would collapse. These organizations are not just trafficking drugs—they are flexing power over entire governments.
The decision to classify cartels as FTOs is a significant policy shift that brings U.S. national security strategy into the 21st century. For too long, our policies toward Mexico and cartel violence have been stuck in a law enforcement-only framework. That approach hasn’t worked—and the results speak for themselves.
One aspect of this issue that I discussed on EWTN is the difficult position of the Catholic Church in Mexico. Over the past year, several Mexican bishops have attempted to act as mediators between the cartels and the government, trying to broker peace agreements in regions where cartel violence is rampant.
While well-intentioned, this is a dangerous and problematic development. The Church should not be drawn into political or security conflicts, because it has no means of enforcing law and order. The last thing Mexico or the U.S. needs is a situation where religious leaders are placed in the crossfire of a war they cannot win.
At the same time, the Church is under immense pressure from these groups. Cartels have targeted clergy, attacked religious institutions, and in some cases, tried to co-opt religious figures for legitimacy. This mirrors tactics we have seen in Middle Eastern terrorist organizations—Hamas and Hezbollah both use religious figures as intermediaries while still engaging in violent jihad. The cartels operate in a similar way, blending organized crime with insurgency-style tactics to exert power over communities.
Too often, we talk about cartel violence as if it’s only a Mexican issue. It is not. It is an American crisis that is killing hundreds of thousands of our citizens through fentanyl overdoses, violent crime, and human trafficking.
Cartel networks are deeply embedded in U.S. cities, financial systems, and even our supply chains. They don’t just traffic drugs—they run human smuggling rings, engage in money laundering, and manipulate global trade networks. Their influence stretches from the U.S.-Mexico border, up the East Coast to New York and beyond.
If we don’t treat this as a full-scale national security threat, we will be dealing with a failed state on our southern border in the near future. The Trump administration’s designation of cartels as terrorist organizations is just the first step. This fight is far from over, and it will require serious action beyond just policy statements and diplomatic protests.
As Tracy and I discussed yesterday, this is an important moment, but it will only matter if we follow through. This is about national security, sovereignty, and the rule of law. It’s about ensuring that criminal terrorist networks do not continue to operate with impunity, corrupting governments and killing innocent people.
The Trump administration’s decision is a major step in the right direction. Now it’s time to see if Mexico steps up, if Congress takes this seriously, and if Washington finally recognizes that we are facing a real war—one that has already reached American soil.
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