U.S. designates Barrio 18 as foreign terrorist organization

The United States has designated the gang Barrio 18 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced.

“Barrio 18 is one of the largest gangs in our hemisphere and has conducted attacks against security personnel, public officials, and civilians in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras,” Rubio said in a statement on Tuesday.

Rubio added that the move reflects the Trump administration’s commitment to “dismantling cartels and gangs and ensuring the safety of the American people.”

Barrio 18, also known as the 18th Street gang, originated in Los Angeles in the 1960s before spreading across Central America.

The group is one of the region’s most violent criminal organizations, rivaling MS-13, and is involved in extortion, drug trafficking, and targeted killings. Governments in El Salvador and Honduras have long blamed Barrio 18 for contributing to high levels of gang violence.

The announcement follows recent designations targeting other transnational criminal groups. Earlier this month, the U.S. designated Ecuador’s Los Lobos and Los Choneros gangs as terrorist organizations.

In February, the State Department classified six Mexican cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, as well as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and MS-13, as FTOs and SDGTs under an executive order signed by President Trump.