Argentina has officially designated the Mexico-based Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) as a terrorist organisation. The decision was announced by the office of President Javier Milei and is based on reports confirming transnational criminal activities as well as links to other terrorist groups. The designation is intended to strengthen international cooperation in security and justice, particularly with countries such as the United States that have already classified the cartel as a terrorist organisation.
Alongside the United States and Canada, Argentina is the first country in Latin America to take this step. The US government under President Donald Trump had already designated the CJNG as a foreign terrorist organisation in February 2025, together with seven other criminal networks. This reclassification is part of a broader shift in security policy across the Western Hemisphere, expanding the definition of terrorism to include organised crime.
Traditionally, the term “terrorism” was primarily used for politically motivated violence, such as in connection with groups like al-Qaeda or the so-called Islamic State after the attacks of September 11, 2001. The US government has expanded this definition to justify military actions against drug cartels. In this context, 47 air strikes have been carried out on vessels in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in approximately 163 deaths.
Further military actions included attacks on a Venezuelan port in December and an operation in early January that led to the abduction and imprisonment of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. These operations were justified as efforts to combat transnational drug trafficking but have been criticised by legal experts as violations of international law and extrajudicial killings.
Trump has also urged Latin American governments to take a harder stance against criminal networks and to increase the use of military force. At a meeting of right-wing leaders in South Florida in early March, known as the “Shield of the Americas” summit, he described cartels as a “cancer” and called for military action.
Milei attended the summit and has aligned his policies with Trump in several areas, including Argentina’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization. At the same time, Trump has supported Argentina economically, for example by facilitating beef exports to the US and offering a $20bn currency swap to stabilise the peso, with continued support tied to the outcome of Argentina’s midterm elections.
The CJNG is one of the most powerful criminal organisations in Mexico and has established connections in several countries, including Guatemala, Colombia and the United States. It was formed in 2010 following a split from the Milenio Cartel and was founded by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho”, who was killed on February 22 in a Mexican military operation
Source: Al Jazeera