Trump to designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist groups

US President Donald Trump says he will “absolutely” designate Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations.

But the Mexican government is pushing back, arguing that such a step would be an assault on its sovereignty.

Trump told former Fox News Channel host Bill O’Reilly during a radio interview this week that he will formally label the cartels as terrorist groups because the drugs they bring into the United States kill tens of thousands of Americans annually. Trump offered no timetable for an announcement.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador says he does not want to enter a “political confrontation” on Thanksgiving eve. López Obrador says he instructed Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard to explain Mexico’s position to Washington.

Ebrard tweeted later that he had been in touch with the US and would use diplomacy to “defend sovereignty.”

— AP