US Will Designate Mexican Drug Cartels As Terrorists

US President Donald Trump said in an interview that he plans to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organisations, owing to what he said was the high number of Americans they have killed.

“They will be designated… Look, we are losing 100,000 people a year to what is happening and what is coming through from Mexico... Absolutely they will be designated…. I have been working on that for the last 90 days. You know, designation is not that easy, you have to go through a process, and we are well into that process," Trump said in an interview with former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly that aired on Tuesday.

The move comes after Trump called for a "war" on the cartels in early November when nine women and children from a Mormon community in northern Mexico were killed in a hail of gunfire. The victims were dual US-Mexican citizens.

After that ambush, Mr. Trump said on Twitter that the time had come “for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth.”

This is the time for Mexico, with the help of the United States, to wage WAR on the drug cartels and wipe them off the face of the earth. We merely await a call from your great new president!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 5, 2019

The comments mark a shift in U.S. policy that has prompted a speedy request for talks by Mexico.

In a statement issued Tuesday night, the Mexican Foreign Ministry said it had “entered into communication with the various corresponding authorities” of the United States “to know the content and the reach” of Mr. Trump’s statements.

The ministry also said it would seek to set up a high-level meeting “as soon as possible” to address the legal designation as well as the flow of arms and money to organized crime. “The foreign minister will establish contact with his counterpart, Michael R. Pompeo, in order to discuss this very important issue for the bilateral agenda,” the ministry said.