Argentina Labels Jalisco Cartel a Terrorist Organization Under Milei Government

Just weeks after CJNG founder Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," was killed in a surprise operation by the Mexican army backed by U.S. intelligence, Argentina moved to formally cement its posture toward the cartel he built. Argentina's government formally designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as CJNG, as a terrorist organization and ordered its inclusion in the country's public registry of individuals and entities linked to terrorism and its financing.

The announcement was issued from the office of Argentinian President Javier Milei, a prominent right-wing figure in Latin America who has forged close relations with his U.S. counterpart. The decision was taken jointly by the Presidency, the Foreign Ministry, the National Security Ministry, and the SIDE intelligence secretariat, according to local media reports.

Inclusion in the registry enables the government to impose "financial sanctions and operational restrictions aimed at limiting the capacity of these criminal organizations and their members." It also "protects Argentina's financial system from being used for illicit purposes" and strengthens international cooperation in security and justice matters "in close coordination with countries that have already designated the Jalisco Cartel as a terrorist organization."

The Jalisco New Generation Cartel emerged in Mexico in the early 2010s amid the fragmentation of major drug cartels. Its leader and founder, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," died in February during an operation in Mexico supported by U.S. intelligence. The United States had offered a $15 million reward for information leading to his capture. Widespread violence erupted in Mexico following El Mencho's killing on February 22 in Tapalpa, Jalisco, as CJNG launched retaliation attacks.

The Argentine government noted that CJNG has become one of the world's most powerful drug trafficking organizations over the past decade, with a presence in Mexico, operations in the United States, and expansion into at least 40 countries, including Argentina. The group has been tied to large-scale fentanyl trafficking, extortion, and attacks on Mexican security forces.

The move aligns Argentina with U.S. security policy, which designated the cartel as a terrorist organization in 2025. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel is one of the most prominent criminal organizations in Mexico, and law enforcement officials estimate it has established connections in other countries, including Guatemala, Colombia, and the U.S. Born from divisions within the Milenio Cartel in 2010, the group was founded by El Mencho. Canada made similar designations in February 2025, the same month the Trump administration acted.

In Thursday's statement, Milei's office noted that the "terrorist" designation would place the cartel in the same category as Hamas and Iran's Quds Force, and that Milei "maintains his unwavering conviction to recognise terrorists for what they are." Milei's government has previously designated as terrorist organizations groups already classified as such by the United States, including branches of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan, Hamas, and Iran's Quds Force, all since he took office in December 2023.

Neither the U.S. State Department nor Mexico's foreign ministry immediately commented on Argentina's designation. Mexico has long resisted labeling its domestic criminal organizations as terrorists, arguing the cartels are not motivated by political ends like others on the terror list, but by profit. That distinction is now being actively eroded across the Western Hemisphere, with Buenos Aires the latest capital to formally discard it.