The United States designated the Juárez Cartel and Los Viagras as foreign terrorist organizations, bringing the total number of Mexican cartels on the terrorism list to six under President Donald Trump's administration. The designations, published in the Federal Register on July 16, were announced by the Treasury Department on July 15.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said both groups either have committed or pose a risk of committing terrorist acts. The Juárez Cartel, which operates along the Texas border in Ciudad Juárez, was accused in the 2019 killings of nine American women and children from a Mormon community. Los Viagras, based in the western state of Michoacán, emerged in the 2010s.
The move follows the February 2026 designation of five other cartels, including the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación cartels. The State Department is offering a $5 million reward for the capture of Los Viagras leader Nicolás Sierra Santana, who faces a drug trafficking conspiracy indictment in Washington.