The US labels another Latin American cartel a terrorist group as the anti-drug war escalates

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — The Trump administration on Tuesday designated another Latin American drug cartel as a foreign terrorist organization, increasing financial pressure on its members and opening the door to potential military action against them.

The U.S. State Department said Clan del Golfo, which is based in Colombia, has been listed both as a foreign and a global terrorist group, calling it a “violent and powerful criminal organization” that uses cocaine trafficking to fund violent activities.

“Clan del Golfo is responsible for terrorist attacks against public officials, law enforcement and military personnel, and civilians in Colombia,” the statement said.

The designation comes after the Trump administration in September added Colombia to a list of nations failing to cooperate in the drug war for the first time in almost 30 years. It was a stinging rebuke to a traditional U.S. ally that reflects a recent surge in cocaine production and fraying ties between the White House and the country’s leftist president, Gustavo Petro.

The United States also sanctioned Petro in October over accusations that he had allowed drug cartels in the South American nation to “flourish” and export cocaine to the U.S. — accusations that he vehemently denied, arguing that Colombia is intercepting record levels of cocaine shipments without killing suspected smugglers.

With an estimated 9,000 fighters, Clan del Golfo is one of Colombia’s most powerful armed groups. Also known by its Spanish acronym AGC, the group evolved from right-wing paramilitary squads that fought Marxist guerillas in Colombia in the 1990s and 2000s.

A report published last year by the Human Rights Defender’s Office, a public agency, said that AGC is present in about a third of Colombia’s 1,103 municipalities, where it extorts local businesses and has also been accused of recruiting children.

Clan del Golfo has been involved in peace talks with Colombia’s government since September, which could lead to the disarmament of its fighters in exchange for reduced sentences for its leadership.

Earlier this month, the Colombian government and the AGC signed an agreement in Qatar, under which the group’s fighters as of next March will be allowed to gather in specially designated zones in northern and western Colombia where they will be free from prosecution, as peace talks continue. The agreement also states that the Colombian government will suspend any extradition of AGC leaders to the U.S. during negotiations.

Elizabeth Dickinson, a Colombia analyst at the International Crisis Group, said Tuesday’s designation could be a message to the Colombian government to take a tougher stance against the group.

“The tensions between Colombia and Washington are at historic levels,” Dickinson said.

She added that while terrorist designations are usually meant to stop third parties from doing business with targeted groups, the designation against AGC could be more “symbolic” — and it will “give pause to Colombian authorities … going forward.”

Colombia has also recently held peace talks with the National Liberation Army, also an organization designated as a terrorist group by the U.S., and in the past it struck a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, while it was still designated as a terrorist group.

The designation does not provide the U.S. government with the immediate authority to conduct military strikes, although it enhances the legal framework for attacks against targeted groups to be carried out.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration designated Venezuelan gangs Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles as foreign terrorist organizations, before launching strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats off the coast of Venezuela, whose legality has been questioned by U.S. lawmakers.

The Trump administration has also accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of sending drug shipments to the U.S.

And last week, Trump said Petro has been “fairly hostile” to the U.S. and that he was “going to have himself some big problems if he doesn’t wise up.”