The Trump administration on Friday imposed terrorist designations on three Guatemala-based drug trafficking groups, saying they serve as key partners for the Mexican cartels that move fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine toward the United States.

“Today, the Trump Administration is imposing terrorist designations against Los Lorenzanas, Los Huistas, and Los Mendoza,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “These three Guatemala-based groups have deep ties with Mexican cartels, helping to move and export illicit drugs to fund terrorism and criminal activity.”

The State Department designated Los Lorenzanas as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. Mr. Rubio described the group as one of Guatemala’s most powerful drug trafficking clans and said it is responsible for numerous acts of violence against civilians, government officials and military forces. The Foreign Terrorist Organization designation takes effect when it is published in the Federal Register.

In a coordinated action, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the Los Mendoza and Los Huistas drug trafficking organizations for providing material support to the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, known as CJNG. The administration designated both Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations in February 2025.

“Under President Trump’s America First agenda, the Treasury Department will continue to target the criminal networks that enable violent organizations like the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG to traffic drugs across our borders and threaten the safety of the American people,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

According to the Treasury, Los Mendoza, founded in the 1980s, is one of Guatemala’s oldest criminal organizations and gives the Sinaloa Cartel access to border crossings, clandestine airstrips, storage sites and local protection networks in the departments of San Marcos, Huehuetenango and Peten. Los Huistas, active since the 1990s, serves as a link in the cocaine supply chain from South America through Mexico and into the United States.

Under the sanctions, any property the groups hold in the United States or under the control of Americans is blocked, and Americans are generally barred from doing business with them.

“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,” Mr. Rubio said.