The United States has designated the Colombian drug-trafficking organization known as Clan del Golfo (Gulf Clan) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). This designation was made by the US Treasury Department.
This action followed hours after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order classifying the drug fentanyl as a "weapon of mass destruction." Both initiatives are part of the Trump administration's broader anti-drug strategy, which includes over 20 lethal strikes on suspected drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, resulting in more than 90 fatalities.
Clan del Golfo is a criminal organization involved in cocaine trafficking from Colombia to the US and Europe. Based in Colombia's northern Urabá region, the group also facilitates migrant smuggling through the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated the group is responsible for terrorist attacks against public officials, law enforcement, military personnel, and civilians in Colombia. It is estimated to have thousands of members and is considered Colombia's largest active cocaine-trafficking gang. Its former leader, Dairo Úsugas, was arrested in 2021, with leadership subsequently assumed by an individual known as Chiquito Malo.
Clan del Golfo joins other Colombian groups on the FTO list, including the National Liberation Army (ELN) and two factions that separated from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) after its 2016 peace agreement with the Colombian government.
The US designation occurs less than two weeks after Colombian President Gustavo Petro signed an agreement with Clan del Golfo aimed at achieving peace in areas under its control. Petro's presidential campaign focused on a promise of "total peace" for Colombia, which has faced decades of cartel and guerrilla violence. The agreement with Clan del Golfo, which included an understanding that its members would not face extradition to the US, was seen as a development in Petro's peace efforts. The US FTO designation is anticipated to complicate these ongoing talks.
Relations between President Petro and the Trump administration have been characterized by tension. Petro has publicly criticized the US lethal strikes on alleged drug vessels in the Pacific, describing them as "murder." In response, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has publicly referred to the Colombian president as a "lunatic."
The FTO designation provides the US with additional powers to address the group. Any assets held by Clan del Golfo in US financial institutions are subject to frozen status, and individuals, including US citizens, who knowingly provide "material support" to the group can face prosecution.
This action unfolds amid regional tensions, with President Trump issuing warnings about potential "strikes on land" against "narco-terrorists." While Trump has primarily focused on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the Cartel of the Suns, also designated an FTO by the US, he has indicated the possibility of such actions in other areas, including Colombia. On Friday, Trump referenced Colombia's cocaine production facilities and stated, "it's not only land strikes on Venezuela, it's land strikes on horrible people that are bringing in drugs and killing our people."