Clan del Golfo Is Latest Latin American Drug Cartel Designated a Terrorist Organization by the U.S.

The United States has designated Colombia's Clan del Golfo as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, making it the latest Latin American drug cartel to be labeled a terrorist group under an expanded policy pursued by the Trump administration, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday.

"Today, the Department of State designates Clan del Golfo as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT)," Rubio said through an official statement. The designation enables Washington to impose wide-ranging economic sanctions on the group and on individuals or entities that provide it with material support.

According to the State Department, the Clan del Golfo—also known as the Gaitanista Army of Colombia—is "a violent and powerful criminal organization with thousands of members." Rubio said its primary source of income is cocaine trafficking, which the group uses to fund violent activities, including attacks against public officials, law enforcement, military personnel and civilians in Colombia.

The U.S. Treasury Department said the group will also be added to the Office of Foreign Assets Control's sanctions list, freezing any assets under U.S. jurisdiction and barring financial dealings.

"The United States will continue to use all available tools to protect our nation and stop the campaigns of violence and terror committed by international cartels and transnational criminal organizations," Rubio said, adding that Washington is committed to "denying funding and resources to these terrorists."

The move places the Clan del Golfo among a growing list of Latin American criminal organizations designated as terrorist groups by the United States in recent months.

Washington has already applied similar designations to six major Mexican cartels, as well as transnational gangs including Tren de Aragua, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and Barrio 18. Ecuadoran groups Los Lobos and Los Choneros have also been listed, along with the so-called Cartel de los Soles, which the U.S. government alleges is led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The designation comes at a sensitive moment in Colombia, where President Gustavo Petro's government is holding peace talks with the Clan del Golfo as part of its "total peace" policy, as El Pais points out. Negotiations are taking place in Doha, Qatar, with international support, and both sides announced earlier this month plans to establish temporary concentration zones starting in March 2026 to facilitate a potential demobilization.

Álvaro Jiménez, the Colombian government's chief negotiator, told Colombia's El Espectador that the U.S. decision was not unexpected. "From the moment President Donald Trump took office, he indicated that he would name several groups as terrorist organizations," Jiménez said, adding that it was "too early" to assess how the designation might affect the talks.

Colombian authorities estimate the Clan del Golfo has roughly 9,000 armed members and controls significant portions of the country's cocaine trade, in addition to engaging in extortion, illegal mining and migrant smuggling through the Darién Gap.