Guatemala groups hit by US terrorist designations

The United States on Friday imposed terrorist designations on three Guatemala-based organisations, citing alleged ties to Mexican cartels and drug trafficking.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the State Department was targeting Los Lorenzanas, Los Huistas and Los Mendoza. He said Los Lorenzanas had been designated a foreign terrorist organisation, while Los Huistas and Los Mendoza were deemed specially designated global terrorists over alleged support for certain Mexican cartels.

Rubio said the three groups had “deep ties with Mexican cartels” and helped move and export illicit drugs to fund terrorism and criminal activity. He said Los Lorenzanas was targeted for what he called numerous acts of violence against civilians, government officials and military forces in Guatemala.

In a separate statement, the US Treasury Department said it was imposing sanctions on Los Mendoza and Los Huistas for allegedly supporting “Mexico’s largest narco-terrorist groups”. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the action exposed ties between politically influential Guatemalan criminal organisations and Mexican foreign terrorist organisations that facilitate narcotics flows into the United States.