A bunch of Individuals who’ve misplaced relations to violence perpetrated by drug cartels is urging the Trump administration to designate further felony teams as terrorist organizations, in line with a letter completely obtained by ABC Information.
The letter, which was despatched to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, was authored by members of a newly fashioned coalition–American Households In opposition to Cartel Terrorism–and requires the Juárez Cartel and its armed wing, La Línea, to be added to the State Division’s listing of International Terrorist Organizations, or FTOs.
“As grieving United States residents—dad and mom, spouses, siblings, youngsters, and survivors—we write to you carrying the excruciating ache of shedding family members to the brutal violence of Mexican drug cartels,” the letter begins.
“This isn’t nearly our households, it’s about conserving Individuals protected and getting justice for all American victims and making certain that no American is left behind,” it continues. “We wish to forestall our fellow residents from ever experiencing the ache and loss we’ve got confronted.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Sweden’s International Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard on the State Division, in Washington, June 20, 2025.
Alex Wroblewski/AFP through Getty Pictures
An FTO label criminalizes the availability of any materials assist to the designated group and routinely bars members of the group who don’t maintain American citizenship from coming into the nation. It additionally permits victims of the group’s assaults and their survivors to sue for compensation.
Historically, the U.S. authorities has used the instrument towards extremist teams, however the Trump administration has already proven a willingness to broaden the interpretation of FTO standards, designating eight drug cartels working in Latin America earlier this 12 months, in addition to two Haitian gangs.
Nonetheless, critics of the administration’s insurance policies have argued the designations do not considerably change the U.S. authorities’s capacity to research and prosecute cartels.
“We’re grateful for the robust actions you’ve gotten already taken to fight drug cartels. We ask you to designate the Juárez Cartel and its armed wing La Línea as FTOs, and hold sending a transparent message that the USA is not going to tolerate the homicide of harmless Individuals or the terrorization of our communities,” the letter to Rubio states.
Members of American Households In opposition to Cartel Terrorism (AmFact) shared their private reminiscences of loss in statements supplied to ABC Information.
“On November 4, 2019, I got here head to head with the Juárez Cartel and its armed wing La Línea, as they sprayed our household with hundreds of bullets,” mentioned Devin Langford, a survivor of a brutal cartel bloodbath who misplaced his mom, Dawna Langford, and two youthful brothers, Trevor, 11, and Rogan, 2, within the horrific assault.
“I can by no means carry again my mom and siblings, however I can converse out in order that no American ought to must concern Mexican drug cartel violence,” he mentioned.
The president of American Households In opposition to Cartel Terrorism, Adriana Jones, misplaced her sister when she was shot and burned to loss of life alongside 4 of her youngsters in the identical violent incident.
“Mexican cartels are felony organizations that site visitors in loss of life and destruction, and so they threaten the protection of households throughout the USA,” she mentioned. “AmFACT is giving survivors and households a voice, so nobody else has to endure the ache, terror, and heartbreak that we have lived by means of.”
