This Thursday, March 26, the Office of President Javier Milei confirmed that the Republic of Argentina has officially declared the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) a terrorist organization.
The decision is based on the global expansion of the criminal group, which currently maintains an operational presence in at least 40 countries, including logistical hubs in South America for drug trafficking and money laundering. With this decree, the CJNG joins a blacklist that already includes organizations such as Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Cartel of the Suns.
The inclusion of the CJNG in the Public Registry of Persons and Entities Linked to Acts of Terrorism and its Financing (RePeT) is not merely symbolic. According to the Ministry of Security, this measure immediately enables a series of legal and operational tools:
Asset Freezing: The immediate immobilization of bank accounts and real estate linked to members or front men of the organization in Argentina.
Operational Restrictions: The operational capacity of its members is drastically limited, protecting the local financial system from being used for money laundering.
International Cooperation: It facilitates the exchange of real-time intelligence with countries that already hold this designation, allowing for cross-border tracking of its assets.
The Argentine government argued that there are official reports that substantiate links between the Mexican cartel and other terrorist groups and illicit activities that directly threaten national security.
The Milei administration has stated that the CJNG has ceased to be a conventional drug cartel and has become a threat to civil peace. Its firepower, the use of military tactics, and the export of extreme violence, such as the assembly of explosive devices and the use of international mercenaries, have been determining factors in elevating its status to that of a terrorist organization.
Background: US Cartel Designation in 2025
Argentina’s move aligns with the continental strategy initiated by the Trump administration in the United States early last year. On February 20, 2025, the State Department formalized the designation of six Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs):
Sinaloa Cartel
Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)
Northeast Cartel (CDN)
Gulf Cartel (CDG)
United Cartels (CU)
La Nueva Familia Michoacana
This 2025 measure also included the Venezuelan group Tren de Aragua and MS-13. At that time, the Mexican government, led by President Claudia Sheinbaum, reacted by proposing constitutional reforms to safeguard sovereignty and strengthen the fight against arms trafficking, marking a divergence in the interpretation of methods for combating organized crime between the two nations.
With Argentina’s integration into this “zero tolerance” stance, the CJNG now faces a new and unprecedented legal challenge.
Source: tvazteca
