South of the Border

Mexico is planning a series of constitutional reforms to better protect the country’s sovereignty, the government announced, after the United States designated Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, the Washington Post reported.

On Thursday, the US State Department upgraded the designation of eight Latin American criminal organizations, including two gangs – MS-13 and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua – and six Mexican cartels, to label them as terrorist organizations.

The designation establishes the cartels as responsible for a “campaign of violence and terror” throughout the Western Hemisphere and for flooding “the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals and vicious gangs.”

The Mexican criminal organizations dominate the production and importation of fentanyl, a powerful opioid responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the US each year.

The designation raised alarms among Mexico’s officials because it would allow the US authorities to issue special sanctions and launch military action on Mexican soil – similar to how Washington has dealt with other terrorist groups, such as Islamic State and al Qaeda, according to Newsweek.

Shortly after the designation announcement, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum proposed constitutional reforms, emphasizing that Mexico would not permit foreign involvement in investigations or prosecutions without the authorization or cooperation of Mexican authorities.

“This cannot be an opportunity for the United States to invade our sovereignty,” Sheinbaum insisted, adding that Mexico would collaborate on fighting cartels but would not accept “subordination.”

One planned reform includes prohibiting any “act from abroad that is harmful to the integrity, independence, and sovereignty of the Nation,” including coups and unauthorized foreign interventions in probes and prosecutions.

Another proposal calls for automatic pretrial detention and maximum penalties for anyone – whether a citizen or foreign national – involved in illegal arms trafficking, or for any foreigner who violates Mexico’s sovereignty.

Observers noted the constitutional reforms are likely to pass: Sheinbaum and her ruling Morena party control a majority in both chambers of the legislature.

Her predecessor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, had already passed laws restricting foreign agents’ autonomy and mandating that Mexican authorities be informed of their activities.

Meanwhile, analysts cautioned that the recent US moves – the threat of tariffs and the designation – could damage Washington’s already tense relations with its southern neighbor.