The groups and the designation
The new entries cover the Sinaloa Cartel and La Nueva Familia Michoacana from Mexico, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and FARC-EP dissidents from Colombia, and Los Tiguerones from Ecuador. All five were added to the Public Registry of Persons and Entities Linked to Terrorist Acts and Their Financing, known as RePET.
Joint Resolution 5-2026, issued by the Security Ministry and Foreign Ministry, formalized the designation. According to The Rio Times, it appeared in the Boletín Oficial on Thursday, October 22, following the presidency's announcement on Wednesday, October 21.
The Rio Times cited Proceso as reporting that Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva and Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno signed the order, and MDZ as reporting that Milei was in Madrid when the presidency announced it. The foreign affairs, security and justice ministries helped prepare the decision, along with Argentina's State Intelligence Secretariat (SIDE).
Authorities cite cross-border threats
The presidential administration said the groups directly threaten Argentine citizens' lives, property and assets. It based that assessment on their operational capabilities, reach across the region and increasingly varied illegal activities.
Argentine authorities linked the Sinaloa Cartel to international drug trafficking, human trafficking and extortion. They said La Nueva Familia Michoacana was expanding its international drug-trafficking and illegal-mining activities, while Los Tiguerones was involved in contract killings and drug smuggling by sea.
For the two Colombian groups, the government pointed to recruitment, logistics and arms-trafficking networks that operate beyond Colombia's borders.
The RePET listings will give Argentine law enforcement and intelligence agencies broader administrative powers to freeze assets, disrupt cross-border financing and monitor possible operational cells. The decision also calls for SIDE to exchange intelligence in real time with international counterterrorism partners.
What is publicly known about operations in Argentina
The public record identifies no operation in Argentina by either the Sinaloa Cartel or La Nueva Familia Michoacana, according to The Rio Times. The intelligence analysis supporting the order is not public.
The Rio Times also cited Infobae's reporting on Víctor Sánchez Valdés, a researcher at Mexico's Autonomous University of Coahuila, who noted that no Michoacana presence in Argentina had been documented.
U.S. designations and security cooperation
Argentina's designation of the two Mexican cartels aligns it with the United States, which named both as Foreign Terrorist Organizations in February 2025 alongside four other Mexico-based groups, The Rio Times reported. The latest Argentine decision came about a month after the Trump administration expanded its list of Latin American criminal groups designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations to 21, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Two weeks before the designation, Argentina's government said the United States had established a regional unit of the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs in Argentina. The Los Angeles Times reported that Washington had approved $13.35 million to strengthen efforts against drug trafficking and organized crime.
Argentina also belongs to Shield of the Americas, a U.S.-led regional anti-drug pact, according to MDZ and Infobae as cited by The Rio Times. In comments to Infobae, Mike Vigil, a former chief of international operations at the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, attributed the designation to Argentina's participation in that pact.
Earlier listings in Argentina and the region
The five groups join earlier Argentine RePET additions, including Venezuela's Cártel de los Soles in August 2025 and Mexico's Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) on March 26, 2026. Argentina has also designated three branches of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Elsewhere in Latin America, Ecuador designated 22 organized crime groups as terrorist organizations in January 2024 after declaring an internal armed conflict. Guatemala's Congress amended laws in October 2025 to classify Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) as transnational criminal and terrorist organizations, according to the Los Angeles Times.
