Washington, Dec 16 (EFE). – The United States State Department designated the Clan del Golfo, considered Colombia ‘s largest criminal gang, as a foreign terrorist organization, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Tuesday.
“The Department of State is designating Clan del Golfo as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT),” Rubio said in a statement.
According to the state department, “Clan del Golfo is a violent and powerful criminal organization with thousands of members.”
“The group’s primary source of income is cocaine trafficking, which it uses to fund its violent activities,” it adds.
The Clan del Golfo is “responsible for terrorist attacks against public officials, law enforcement and military personnel, and civilians in Colombia,” Rubio added about the gang, which is currently engaged in peace talks with the government of President Gustavo Petro.
“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. We are committed to denying funding and resources to these terrorists,” the Secretary of State concluded.
This designation coincides with a tense moment in US-Colombia relations, following the large-scale US military deployment in the Caribbean as part of President Donald Trump’s anti-drug campaign, which has also expanded to the Eastern Pacific.
The Clan del Golfo, considered the heir to the paramilitary group United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), is the largest criminal group in Colombia, with nearly 9,000 members.
Its members are mainly involved in drug trafficking, illegal mining, and migrant smuggling.
Bogotá and the Gulf Clan began a peace dialogue process in mid-September in Doha, with Qatar, Spain, Norway, and Switzerland acting as mediators.
The first round concluded with an agreement that included an initial “confidence-building” phase. In the second round, both parties announced on Dec 5 the creation of three special zones in northern and western Colombia to temporarily house the organization’s combatants starting in March.
Since President Donald Trump returned to power in January, Washington has designated the six main Mexican cartels as terrorists: the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the Northeast Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, United Cartels, and the New Mexican Family.
It has done the same with the transnational gangs Tren de Aragua, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), and its rival Barrio 18, as well as the Ecuadorian gangs Los Lobos and Los Choneros, and the Cartel de los Soles, which, according to the Trump administration, is led by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, something that Caracas denies.
Designation as a terrorist entity has far-reaching legal effects in the US, ranging from the freezing of funds to criminal prosecution for indirect or direct support to these organizations. EFEygg/mcd
