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President Trump has signed an order telling the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain criminal gangs that the United States has named terror organizations.
Aug. 9, 2025, 5:56 p.m. ET
President Trump’s directive to the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American gangs and cartels has turned a spotlight on those groups and raised a host of questions about legal issues, U.S. intervention abroad and which organization might be targeted.
It remains unclear what plans the Pentagon is drawing up for possible action, and where any potential military operations might take place. Mexico’s president said on Friday that U.S. military action in her country is “absolutely ruled out.”
Mr. Trump directed the Pentagon to begin using military force against certain Latin American drug cartels that his administration has deemed terrorist organizations. The State Department in February designated several gangs and cartels foreign terrorists organizations.
Here is an introduction to some of those groups:
The Sinaloa Cartel
Based in Sinaloa State, in western Mexico
Founded more than 30 years ago by Joaquin Guzmán Loera, the drug lord known as El Chapo, and Ismael Zambada García, a boss known as El Mayo, the Sinaloa Cartel has long stood as one of the world’s most formidable criminal syndicates.
Coordinating an umbrella of criminal cells — not only from Sinaloa State but from across Mexico, with partners, associates and operatives around the world — the cartel has become a leading producer of fentanyl, the opioid that has had a devastating effect in the United States.
