Cartels do not meet points 2 & 3.
2. Name one event when a cartel attempted to "intimidate or coerce an [American] population or influence the [U.S.] government?
3. How are cartel actions threatenting US national security?
That’s a fair question—but let’s not pretend there’s a shortage of examples.
When I say cartels use terrorism tactics to intimidate or coerce, that’s not rhetorical flourish—it’s fact. Take Culiacán, 2019, when the Sinaloa Cartel unleashed a full-scale urban assault after Mexican forces captured Ovidio Guzmán López, son of El Chapo. They didn’t just resist arrest—they turned a major city into a war zone, blocking roads, burning vehicles, and terrorizing civilians until the government surrendered and released him. The message wasn’t only for Mexico. It was for Washington too: interfere with us, extradite us, or touch our leadership—and we’ll bring chaos to your doorstep.
Or, go back furherto 2010, when Los Zetas ambushed and killed U.S. ICE agent Jaime Zapata. That was a targeted execution of a U.S. federal officer. If deliberately killing American agents to discourage enforcement isn’t “intimidating a government,” I’m not sure what is.
So yes—cartels have both the intent and the capacity to intimidate governments and populations. Their violence isn’t random; it’s strategic. It’s designed to shape political behavior and force law enforcement retreats. That meets the statutory definition of terrorism in black and white.
Now as for national security: fentanyl alone settles that question. Over 80,000 Americans die every year from cartel-supplied synthetic opioids. That’s not a “law enforcement issue”—that’s a mass-casualty event repeated annually. No foreign power in modern history has killed more Americans on U.S. soil than the Sinaloa and CJNG cartels have through their chemical warfare. And make no mistake: it is warfare—intentional, systematic, and profit-driven.
But it goes deeper. These cartels aren’t isolated gangs—they’re transnational actors with armed wings, drones, heavy weaponry, and cross-border infiltration networks. They fire across into U.S. territory, they recruit U.S.-based gangs, and they launder billions through shell companies that reach into our financial system. And the alliances they’ve formed—with entities in China, Russia, and Venezuela—move this from criminal activity into geopolitical destabilization. That’s why agencies from the DEA to the Treasury Department classify it as an “unusual and extraordinary threat” under IEEPA.
So, to answer directly
Cartels have attempted to intimidate and coerce governments—including ours.
And they do threaten U.S. national security—measurably, lethally, and daily.
That’s precisely why the FTO and SDGT designations aren’t some political stunt—they’re an overdue acknowledgment of the reality we’re facing.
