The United States designated three Guatemala-based groups Thursday, with the State and Treasury departments taking separate actions and officials citing links to Mexican cartels, Anadolu Ajansı reported.
The State Department assigned Los Lorenzanas both the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) labels. Treasury designated Los Huistas and Los Mendoza as SDGTs, citing their material support for Mexican cartels designated by the United States, Anadolu Ajansı reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described all three groups as connected to Mexican cartels. He said they helped transport and export illicit drugs to finance terrorism and criminal activity. Rubio characterized Los Lorenzanas as a prominent drug-trafficking clan and said it had been responsible for multiple violent incidents in Guatemala.
