MEXICO CITY, Jan 21, (AP): US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday saying the United States would designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations in a move that could push a militarized agenda for the border and Latin America. The order highlighted Mexican drug cartels and other Latin American criminal groups like Venezuela gang Tren de Aragua and Salvadoran gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), which it said "threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.”

The order did not list the groups by name, but said Cabinet secretaries would recommend groups for designation as terrorist organizations in the next 14 days. It was among a slew of orders Trump signed Monday to kick off his administration. "The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs,” the order read.

It was unclear what the impact could be for fighting the cartels, but there was concern it could be another way to make it more difficult for people from the countries where those groups operate to access the U.S. In came in addition to measures including the declaration of an emergency on the U.S. southern border, a promise to slap 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Feb. 1 and ending the use of the CBP One app, which allowed migrants to apply for asylum appointments before reaching the border. Trump has also promised to carry out mass deportations and threatened military intervention in Mexico to fight cartels, something sharply rejected by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Many have voiced concern the terrorist designation could provide the US justification to take military action against cartels.

Vanda Felbab-Brown, an organized crime expert for the Brookings Institution, said the order could have "huge implications from trade to migrants.” As cartels have gained a firm grip on control of the lucrative migrant smuggling trade in recent years, it's virtually impossible for migrants and asylum seekers to pass through Mexico and other Latin American countries without paying some sort of fee to cartels. The moment they do, she said, it could disqualify them from seeking asylum.