Drug Cartel Terrorist Designation Act

This legislation mandates the Secretary of State to designate four prominent Mexican drug cartels—the Gulf Cartel, Cartel Del Noreste, Cartel de Sinaloa, and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion—as foreign terrorist organizations under existing law. Congress expresses its belief that these cartels already meet the necessary criteria for such a designation. Within 30 days of enactment, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, must submit a detailed report to Congress. This report will outline how the specified cartels, and potentially others, meet the designation criteria, or provide a detailed justification if any listed cartel does not. Following this report, the Secretary is required to designate any cartel identified therein that satisfies the criteria for a foreign terrorist organization . The bill also clarifies that this act does not expand eligibility for asylum.