US declares three Guatemalan gangs to be terrorist groups, imposes sanctions

WASHINGTON -- The Trump administration has declared three Guatemalan gangs to be terrorist groups for financing violence and crime with proceeds from drug trafficking.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday imposed the terrorist designations on Los Lorenzanas, Los Huistas and Los Mendoza, all of which the U.S. says have deep ties to Mexican drug cartels.

Los Lorenzanas was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization, while the other two were identified as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Both labels subject the groups and their members to U.S. sanctions, including freezes on assets they may have in U.S. jurisdictions. The FTO designation goes further and allows criminal prosecution of people found to have provided those organizations with material support.

“The Trump administration will continue to use all available tools to protect our nation by keeping illicit drugs off our streets and disrupting the revenue streams funding violent narcoterrorists,” Rubio said in a statement. “We will not stand by while these foreign terrorist organizations corrupt Guatemala’s institutions.”

Los Huistas, which operates in western Guatemala along the Mexico border, is known to have support from local politicians and businesspeople who have helped it survive and operate with impunity.

Guatemalan authorities accuse the group of having ties with both the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Mexico. Last year, Guatemala’s government extradited one of its leaders — one of the 100 most wanted men by the U.S. government.

Los Lorenzana is a family clan accused of ties to drug trafficking in eastern and northern Guatemala along the border with Honduras. It’s accused of drug trafficking, and Guatemalan authorities say it is allied with the Sinaloa Cartel.

Los Mendoza is also a family clan accused of drug trafficking, with ties to Guatemalan politicians and government officials. Its operations are concentrated along Guatemala’s borders with Honduras and Belize. It’s known for violent land grabs in the region it dominates.

Sonia Perez in Guatemala City contributed.