Cartel Terrorism

Cartels engage in acts of violence, intimidation and coercion to influence the activities or policies of the U.S. government to achieve power and control. While many terror groups have been driven by religious or political ideology, cartel groups use the same ruthless financial and territorial terrorist tactics including:

• Assassinations and kidnappings targeting officials, journalists and civilians
• Bombings, public executions and mass casualty attacks
• Corruption and coercion of political figures and law enforcement
• Extortion schemes and community-wide intimidation campaigns

These acts are used to intimidate or coerce governments from acting. As a result, these tactics destabilize regions and erode the rule of law. On a more personal level, they harm families and leave civilians fearful and unable to live out their daily lives in safety. Civil lawsuits can help hit cartels where it hurts – financially.

Are cartels considered terrorists?

Under U.S. law, some cartels are formally designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). The U.S. government has increasingly recognized the overlap between cartel violence and terrorism tactics.

On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order designating certain cartels as terrorist organizations, declaring “Their campaigns of violence and terror [. . .] threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the united States, and the stability of the international order.” Consequently, on February 20, 2025, the U.S. State Department designated eight organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) consistent with 8 U.S.C. 1189 and Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) consistent with 50 U.S.C. 1702:

• Tren de Aragua
• Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)
• Cártel de Sinaloa
• Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación
• Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas)
• La Nueva Familia Michoacana
• Cártel de Golfo (Gulf Cartel)
• and Cárteles Unidos

Most of the cartel organizations designated are based in Mexico, including: the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), and the Gulf Cartel. Central and South American organizations, including MS-13 and Tren de Aragua, have also been listed because of their transnational violence and trafficking activities. Glaringly absent from the list is the Juárez Cartel, and its armed wing La Línea. The Juárez Cartel has engaged in hundreds of terrorist attacks directed at judges, politicians, reporters, U.S. government officials, and innocent Americans and civilians in Mexico.

Victims of cartel terrorism may seek justice through the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) (18 U.S.C. § 2333). This law allows U.S. nationals who are injured or killed in acts of international terrorism to file civil lawsuits against those responsible. It also enables civil lawsuits against entities that knowingly support or finance acts of terrorism. Potential defendants include:

• Cartel organizations
• Financial institutions that launder cartel proceeds
• Arms dealers or suppliers who enable cartel violence
• Corrupt officials or state actors who facilitate cartel operations

Common barriers to litigation include jurisdictional hurdles and asserting claims against foreign states. Sovereign immunity often blocks claims against foreign states. Obtaining critical evidence from foreign territories poses a significant, ongoing challenge for victims.

Cartel terrorism is widespread in Latin America, particularly in Mexico. Major organizations, such as the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, and the Juárez Cartel have battled for control of key trafficking corridors in the region.

In Colombia, groups financing violence with cocaine production continue the legacy of narco-insurgency. Central America faces pervasive cartel influence in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

Cartel activity has also expanded into Venezuela, Ecuador and the Caribbean. They leverage political instability and weak enforcement to move drugs, weapons and migrants.

Spillover effects include:

• Violence and trafficking reaching U.S. border communities
• Corruption within local and national governments
• Human displacement and migration linked to extortion and coercion
• Money laundering through financial centers worldwide

On March 20, 2025, Motley Rice filed a lawsuit on behalf of the family of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. In 1985, Kiki Camarena was abducted by members of the Sinaloa Cartel (then known as the Guadalajara Cartel) at the direction of the organization’s top leadership: Rafael Caro-Quintero, Ernesto Fonseca-Carrillo, and Miguel Angel Felix-Gallardo. The cartel members brutally tortured Camarena in efforts to extract information about the DEA’s knowledge of cartel operations. The torture ended with Camarena’s murder, a brazen act meant to intimidate and deter the U.S. and Mexican governments from investigating and disrupting criminal cartel activity. The survival action is brought under the ATA. The lawsuit seeks compensatory, punitive, and treble damages for international terrorism in violation of federal law, assault and battery, wrongful death, negligent and/or intentional infliction of emotional distress, and loss of consortium. The family is suing in the Southern District of California.

Even cartel groups not formally designated as FTOs may be held liable for international terror under the ATA.

On July 23, 2020, Motley Rice filed a lawsuit on behalf of U.S. families whose family members were murdered by the Juárez Cartel and its violent armed wing, La Línea. While not designated an FTO, the Juárez Cartel has been designated as a foreign narcotics kingpin pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (the "Kingpin Act") since June 1, 2004.

On November 4, 2019, American families were driving through Sonora, Mexico when their cars were ambushed by the Juárez Cartel and La Línea, with support from the Sinaloa Cartel. Christina Langford, Dawna Ray, and two of Dawna’s children were shot and killed. Rhonita LeBaron and her four children, in a separate vehicle that survived heavy gunfire, were burned alive inside their vehicle after the cartel members intentionally set it on fire. The other seven children experienced gunshot wounds but survived. The ambush was part of a coordinated plan by the Juárez Cartel and La Línea to intimidate the local civilian population and Mexican authorities to gain control over a strategic drug-trafficking corridor.

In June of 2022, a U.S. federal judge found that the Juárez Cartel and its armed wing La Línea carried out activities which met the definition of international terrorism under the Anti-Terrorism Act. It was the first time that a Mexican drug cartel had been found to have violated the Anti-Terrorism Act. The lawsuit sought compensatory, punitive, and treble damages for international terrorism in violation of federal law, assault and battery, wrongful death, negligent and/or intentional infliction of emotional distress, and loss of consortium. The family filed suit in the Western District of North Dakota.

Many cartels like the Juárez Cartel rely on the same mechanisms as traditional terrorist organizations to achieve control. They engage in systematic targeting of civilians and officials to create fear, political manipulation and regional destabilization. Recognizing cartels as terrorists allows victims and governments to pursue broader legal remedies and impose stronger sanctions on associated entities.

The Kingpin Act

The Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Act (the "Kingpin Act”) became law on December 3, 1999. Its purpose is to deny significant foreign narcotics traffickers, their related businesses, and their operatives access to the U.S. financial system and to prohibit all trade and transactions between the traffickers and U.S. companies and individuals. 

Under the Kingpin Act, the President may publicly identify foreign entities as well as foreign individuals as Significant Foreign Narcotics Traffickers, or "kingpins": a foreign person is defined in the Act as "any citizen or national of a foreign state or any entity not organized under the laws of the United States, but does not include a foreign state." Individuals who violate the Kingpin Act are subject to criminal penalties of up to 10 years in prison and/or fines pursuant to Title 18 of the U.S. Code. Entities that violate the Act face criminal penalties in the form of fines up to $10 million; officers, directors, or agents of an entity who knowingly participate in a violation of the Kingpin Act are subject to criminal penalties of up to 30 years in imprison and/or a $5 million fine. The Kingpin Act also provides for civil penalties of up to $1.075 million against individuals or entities that violate its provisions.

Individuals and businesses that knowingly or intentionally support cartels designated under the Kingpin Act may face civil liability in U.S. Court.

Motley Rice holds terrorists accountable

Motley Rice has extensive experience pursuing justice for victims of cartel terrorism and transnational violence. The firm’s attorneys have litigated cases involving state sponsors, banks, and corporations accused of financing terrorism, including landmark anti-terrorism lawsuits filed on behalf of 9/11 victims, victims of Hamas, victims of international hotel bombings and others.

Motley Rice advocates for survivors of terrorism and those harmed by violent organizations worldwide. Through strategic litigation, the firm helps victims pursue financial accountability and civil justice against perpetrators and supporters of terrorist acts.

Read more on our anti-terrorism litigation experience.