TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - White House adviser Stephen Miller on Monday, July 27, compared the legality of Mexican cartels to the terrorist organizations ISIS and Al Qaeda.
"As a foreign terrorist organization, the Mexican drug cartels sit in the exact same legal position as ISIS or Al-Qaeda," Miller said at an event held at the Pentagon to award the Mexican Border Defense Medal to 50 service members, as quoted by ANTARA.
Unlike those two groups, Mexican drug cartels operate near the U.S. border, exporting mass death in the form of narcotics and criminal activity, he said.
Miller argued that the dysfunction of Mexico's justice, political, and legal systems stems from the influence of terrorist organizations, which he said control parts of the country and use violence, including killings and kidnappings, to eliminate anyone who stands in their way.
In February 2025, the United States designated several drug cartels as global terrorist organizations.
These cartels include Tren de Aragua, Cartel de Sinaloa, Cartel del Noreste, Carteles Unidos, and MS-13. The list later grew to include other groups such as the Cartel de Los Soles.
Read: Zelenskyy to Meet Trump as Ukraine Seeks Air Defense Systems
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