The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) has expressed support for U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio's decision to classify several Latin American cartel groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). This action is in line with an executive order from January 20, 2025, which directed the Secretary of State to evaluate and recommend organizations for such designations.

Among the newly designated FTOs is the Sinaloa cartel, which has been a subject of various investigations linking it to the Mexican government. TPPF had previously conducted research in March 2023 on the implications of labeling Mexican cartels as terrorist entities. Alongside America First Policy Institute, TPPF also released a fact sheet detailing the powers granted to the U.S. government under an FTO designation.

Greg Sindelar, CEO of TPPF, stated, "These violent cartels have infiltrated American cities and destroyed lives through their reprehensible trafficking operations. TPPF has advocated for cartel groups to be treated as foreign terror threats for years. We stand firmly behind the current administration’s efforts to eliminate them for the sake of America’s national security, and encourage Congress to codify this order with legislation."

Joshua Treviño, Chief Transformation Officer at TPPF, remarked that these cartels meet terrorism criteria under the Immigration and Nationality Act. He noted, "It is also indisputable that the Sinaloa cartel has likely intervened in Mexican politics on behalf of the ruling regime. Make no mistake: with this FTO designation, Mexico’s cartels — and their friends and allies in Mexico’s government — are on notice."

Further information on TPPF's findings regarding Mexican cartels can be accessed through their published research papers and fact sheets.