Trump list of US-designated 'foreign terrorist organizations' in Latin America grows to 21

MEXICO CITY -- The Trump administration has designated 21 Latin American and Caribbean criminal groups as “foreign terrorist organizations,” with the latest an Ecuadorian group added to the list on Wednesday.The announcement came during the U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to Colombia, Ecuador and Peru where he is focused the U.S. strategy to combat drug trafficking in Latin America. The label was once reserved for groups like the Islamic State group or al-Qaida that use violence for political ends — not for money-focused crime rings. But Trump's aim was to increase pressure on the groups and anyone who the U.S. sees as aiding them.The strategy rolled out in February 2025 and served as a pretext for the capture of Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro, and for dozens of attacks on alleged “narcoterrorist” boats, resulting in more than 200 deaths. It also led Latin American countries such as Guatemala and Argentina to take similar actions against certain groups and states like Ecuador to launch joint operations on Ecuadorian soil. Mexico, with eight groups on the list, has the most of any country. Its government is under extreme pressure from the U.S. to avoid Trump unilateral action...