Canada lists seven major crime organizations and cartels as terrorist groups

Canada fulfilled its promise to the Trump administration and has officially listed seven transnational criminal organizations, including several major drug cartels, as terrorist entities under the Cri

Source: Facebook

Author: Isaac Lamoureux

Canada fulfilled its promise to the Trump administration and has officially listed seven transnational criminal organizations, including several major drug cartels, as terrorist entities under the Criminal Code.

Public Safety Minister David McGuinty made the announcement on Thursday. While the Minister didn’t say the announcement was in response to President Trump’s demand that Canada secure its border and stop the flow of fentanyl, McGuinty applauded Canada’s $1.3 billion border investment and new fentanyl czar.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump paused the U.S.’ planned tariffs on Canadian goods after a phone call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Following the call, Trudeau announced additional measures to secure the border – including listing cartel gangs as terrorist groups.

The seven groups listed as terrorist organizations include:

• The Gulf Cartel (El Cartel del Golfo)

• The Michoacán Family (La Familia Michoacana)

• MS-13 (La Mara Salvatrucha)

• The United Cartels (Carteles Unidos)

• Tren de Aragua (TdA)

• Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG)

• Sinaloa Cartel (Cartel de Sinaloa)

McGuinty said that the listed entities are organized crime groups that spread fear by using extreme violence, drug and human trafficking, and smuggling illegal firearms. He said all seven groups clearly meet the legally defined threshold for listing a terrorist group.

The designation as a terrorist entity carries significant legal implications, prohibiting any financing, recruitment, or travel linked to these organizations. It also mandates Canadian financial institutions to freeze assets tied to these groups.

The terrorist group listing provides law enforcement with broader authority to track, trace, and disrupt the group’s financial assets. It also widens the net with which law enforcement can exercise powers.

RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said that the federal agency has intelligence on numerous cartels operating in Canada and that Canadians have moved to Mexico to facilitate drug trafficking.

Duheme said that even if the amount of fentanyl crossing the Northern border was a small percentage compared to its Southern counterpart, it’s an issue the RCMP takes very seriously.

According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 741 pounds of fentanyl was seized at the Northern border in 2024. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, 2 milligrams of fentanyl can be a lethal dose for some and enough fentanyl was seized at the Canada-U.S. border in 2024 to kill over 168 million people.

The United States made a similar announcement on Thursday, but McGuinty suggested that one had nothing to do with the other.

The United States listed eight groups as terrorists. Every group listed by Canada was also listed by the United States.

“Canada is a sovereign and independent country. We are taking sovereign and independent decisions, and the decision to list is a sovereign and independent one,” McGuinty said, adding that he was unaware the United States was providing a list this morning.