Inclusion in the terrorism registry enables the government to impose “financial sanctions and operational restrictions” aimed at limiting the capacity of criminal organizations and their members, according to the statement from President Javier Milei’s administration.
March 26 (UPI) — Argentina’s government on Thursday formally designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, as a terrorist organization and ordered its inclusion in the country’s public registry of individuals and entities linked to terrorism and its financing.
In an official statement, Argentina’s presidential office said the decision is based on reports documenting the group’s transnational criminal activities and links to other terrorist entities.
The move aligns Argentina with U.S. security policy, which designated the cartel as a terrorist organization in 2025.
Inclusion in the registry enables the government to impose “financial sanctions and operational restrictions aimed at limiting the capacity of these criminal organizations and their members,” according to the statement from President Javier Milei’s administration.
It also “protects Argentina’s financial system from being used for illicit purposes” and strengthens international cooperation in security and justice matters “in close coordination with countries that have already designated the Jalisco Cartel as a terrorist organization.”
The government said CJNG has become one of the world’s most powerful drug trafficking organizations over the past decade, with a presence in Mexico, operations in the United States and expansion into at least 40 countries, including Argentina.
The statement also highlighted the measure’s impact on international cooperation, saying it reinforces security and judicial coordination with countries that have already classified the cartel as a terrorist group.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel emerged in Mexico in the early 2010s amid the fragmentation of major drug cartels. Its leader and founder, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho,” died in February during an operation in Mexico supported by U.S. intelligence. The United States had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his capture.
Milei’s government has previously designated as terrorist organizations groups already classified as such by the United States, including branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Lebanon and Jordan, the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Iran’s Quds Force.