JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Since taking office on Monday, President Trump has signed a flurry of executive actions. Let's take a closer look at the order designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations. NPR justice correspondent Ryan Lucas is here in studio. Hi there.
RYAN LUCAS, BYLINE: Hi there.
SUMMERS: Ryan, let's start with the executive order itself. What does it say?
LUCAS: So the order says that the cartels are a threat in a way that your kind of run-of-the-mill organized crime is not. These cartels use horrific violence to control illegal traffic of people and drugs across the Southern border. And that, the order says, is a national security threat for the United States. What this order does is instruct the State Department to recommend, within 14 days, whether to apply this designation to the cartels, as well as to Central American criminal gangs. This sort of designation is something that has been considered in the past during Trump's first term in office, but also way back during the Obama presidency. Ultimately, the decision back then was not to move forward with it, though.
SUMMERS: Got it. OK. So on a practical level, what would designating the cartels as terrorist organizations actually do?
LUCAS: Well, first off, to be absolutely clear, the U.S. government already has the ability to go after drug traffickers and cartels with both prosecutions and sanctions. What the terrorism designation would do is kind of broaden those options a bit. And the most significant change, many experts say, would be the possibility to bring what's known as material support prosecutions. So under federal law, it is a crime to provide material support to designated terrorists. And material support can mean anything from money or weapons to lodging, false papers, even something just like a phone card. This is a bread-and-butter charge in terrorism prosecutions, and over the years, it has been interpreted pretty broadly.
SUMMERS: In the context of supporting a cartel, who could face those kinds of charges?
LUCAS: Well, a whole range of folks - members of the cartels, of course, street gangs in the U.S. that are selling the cartels' drugs, but also people who provide financial or logistical support to the cartels. The ripple effects, though, could be bigger. Some analysts point out that U.S. companies that do business in Mexico make payments to a Mexican company, potentially, that is secretly controlled or affiliated with the cartel - they could face penalties. There's also migrants. Migrants could also potentially face material support charges because migrants often pay smugglers to get through Mexico or across the border - smugglers who, in many cases, have ties to the cartels. And that, in turn, could provide grounds for the U.S. government to keep those migrants out of the U.S.
SUMMERS: So here's a question I've got. Could a terrorist designation - terrorism designation pave the way for potential U.S. military action against these cartels?
LUCAS: Certainly heard about that concern. What I would say in response is that the president already has the authority to conduct military action. This designation wouldn't change that. It could - and I have to underline there - could provide political cover of a sorts. But look, unilateral military action on Mexican soil would be a huge step in something that Mexico has made quite clear that it would oppose.
SUMMERS: Now you mentioned that the U.S. has previously considered designating cartels as terrorist groups but ultimately decided not to. Tell us why that is and what has changed.
LUCAS: So I talked about that with Jason Blazakis. He used to lead the State Department office that makes these designations. And he said that arguably the most significant reason it hasn't been done in the past is the negative impact that it would have on U.S.-Mexico relations. It could alienate Mexico. Of course, the U.S. needs to work with Mexico on migration, cartels, trade. As for what has changed, the most obvious thing is Trump is back in office. And he, of course, promised a swift and decisive action on the border, on migration, on drugs. There's clearly a political messaging angle to Trump's talk of designating cartels. This is a show of resolve. But this could also be a means to pressure Mexico to coordinate more with the U.S. on the cartel question, but also on those other thorny issues as well.
SUMMERS: That is NPR's Ryan Lucas. Thank you.
LUCAS: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
