❓WHAT HAPPENED: The State Department designated the Colombian Clan del Golfo as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO).
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The U.S. State Department and the Colombian Clan del Golfo drug cartel.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The designation was announced on Tuesday, targeting activities linked to Colombia.
💬KEY QUOTE: “The United States will continue to use all available tools to protect our nation and stop the campaigns of violence and terror committed by international cartels and transnational criminal organizations.” – State Department statement
🎯IMPACT: The move seeks to cut off funding and resources to the Clan del Golfo and curb its violent activities.
The U.S. State Department has officially designated Colombia’s Clan del Golfo drug cartel as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO), citing the group’s role in large-scale drug trafficking and sustained violence. According to the department, Clan del Golfo has thousands of members and finances its operations largely through cocaine trafficking. U.S. officials say the organization has carried out terrorist attacks against Colombian public officials, members of law enforcement, military personnel, and civilians.
“The United States will continue to use all available tools to protect our nation and stop the campaigns of violence and terror committed by international cartels and transnational criminal organizations,” the department stated in its announcement.
The designation is intended to restrict the group’s access to funding, weapons, and logistical support by cutting it off from the U.S. financial system and prohibiting Americans from providing material assistance to it. Clan del Golfo has long been considered one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Colombia, with influence over major cocaine trafficking routes and a history of armed confrontation with the Colombian state.
The move reflects a broader U.S. effort to treat major transnational criminal organizations as national security threats rather than solely law enforcement challenges. Earlier this year, the State Department designated several other groups as foreign terrorist organizations, including the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua gang and Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel. Those designations marked a significant escalation in how the U.S. government addresses international drug cartels and criminal networks.
The decision to apply terrorist labels to Mexican cartels prompted diplomatic tension, with Mexican officials warning Washington against actions they said could infringe on Mexico’s sovereignty. U.S. officials argue that the designations provide additional legal and financial tools to disrupt cartel operations, particularly those linked to drug trafficking, human smuggling, and violence that affects both the United States and its allies.
In a separate move later in the year, the U.S. government also announced plans to designate certain foreign-based groups linked to Antifa ideology as foreign terrorist organizations, signaling an expansion beyond traditional jihadist or insurgent groups.
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