Trump adds 21 Latin American groups to terror list
Designations include Mexican cartels and Central American gangs, with an Ecuadorian group the latest addition.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
Trump adds 21 Latin American groups to terror list
Photograph: My Mother Lode (embedded from source)
What this story says
- The Trump administration has designated 21 criminal groups in Latin America and the Caribbean as foreign terrorist organizations.
- An Ecuadorian group was the latest addition to the list, designated on Wednesday.
- Mexico has the highest number of groups on the list, with eight.
- The strategy aims to increase pressure on these groups and their alleged supporters.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 12 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 6 of the 18 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
42/100
Craft
45/100
Hype
20/100
18 sources · methodology
Missing from the right
Only 5 of the 12 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
A reader who follows the right would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.
The Trump administration has designated 21 criminal groups from Latin America and the Caribbean as foreign terrorist organizations. The most recent designation, made on Wednesday, was an Ecuadorian group. This strategy is intended to increase pressure on these organisations and those who allegedly support them.
Disagreements in coverage
The Associated Press, which provided reports for several outlets, stated that the latest designation was an Ecuadorian group added on Wednesday. My Mother Lode, which published a full report, also stated this. Independent Español, a digest, stated the latest designation was an Ecuadorian group added last week.
Omissions in coverage
None of the left-rated or centre-rated reports mentioned the strategy's aim to increase pressure on these groups and their alleged supporters. No right-rated outlet ran this story.
Coverage settled. We checked this 10 times and stopped on 16 Sept 2026, 06:30. The figures above are what it finished at.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
5 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports from The Record, The Toronto Star, The Hamilton Spectator, Associated Press News, and Durango Herald all stated that the Trump administration had designated 21 Latin American and Caribbean criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations, with the latest being an Ecuadorian group added on Wednesday. These digests also noted that Mexico has the most groups on the list, with eight.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports from My Mother Lode, LA Daily News, and WBAL highlighted that the Trump administration has designated 21 Latin American and Caribbean criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations. My Mother Lode, in its full report, provided extensive detail on specific groups, including the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Mexico, Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha in Central America, Clan del Golfo in Colombia, and Tren de Aragua and Cartel de los Soles in Venezuela. These reports also noted that the label was once reserved for groups like the Islamic State group or al-Qaida that use violence for political ends, not for money-focused crime rings.
Right
5 rated outlets
- All four right‑rated outlets reported that the Trump administration added an Ecuadorian group to the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organisations in Latin America, raising the total to twenty‑one groups.
- El Universo’s digest highlighted a statement from Roberto Kury, who described Ecuador as a leading United States ally in addressing regional security problems. Fox News’s digest quoted Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing the designation of the Ecuador‑based gang Los Tiguerones and linking it to narcotrafficking and civilian attacks. El Financiero’s digest noted that the United States historically designates groups that employ violence for political aims.
- None of the right‑rated digests mention a cost estimate for the designations, nor do they list the other twenty groups now on the list. They also omit any comment from other Latin American governments or from U.S. agencies beyond the quoted officials.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Trump adds 21 Latin American groups to terror list?
- Of the 12 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 39% are rated left, 30% are rated centre, 31% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 18. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Trump adds 21 Latin American groups to terror list left or right?
- Neither side dominates it. Of the 12 rated outlets on this story, 39% are rated left, 30% are rated centre, 31% are rated right, and no side holds the 70% this site would want before calling a field one-sided. A story is not left or right in any case; the outlets that carried it are what carry ratings.
- Is the coverage of Trump adds 21 Latin American groups to terror list biased?
- Trump adds 21 Latin American groups to terror list is one event reported by 18 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Trump adds 21 Latin American groups to terror list?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Trump adds 21 Latin American groups to terror list?
- 18 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How many groups have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations?
- The Trump administration has designated 21 criminal groups from Latin America and the Caribbean as foreign terrorist organizations. The latest designation was an Ecuadorian group added on Wednesday.
- Which country has the most groups on the list?
- Mexico has the most groups on the list, with a total of eight. These include prominent organisations such as the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
- What is the purpose of these designations?
- The strategy behind these designations is to increase pressure on the designated criminal groups and their alleged supporters. This aims to disrupt their operations and influence in the region.
Read it at the source
18 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
5- Trump list of U.S.-designated 'foreign terrorist organizations' in Latin America grows to 21 (opens PBS NewsHour in a new tab)
PBS NewsHour — is PBS NewsHour biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump list of US-designated ‘foreign terrorist organizations’ in Latin America grows to 21 (opens The Hamilton Spectator in a new tab)
The Hamilton Spectator — is The Hamilton Spectator biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump list of US-designated ‘foreign terrorist organizations’ in Latin America grows to 21 (opens The Toronto Star in a new tab)
The Toronto Star — is The Toronto Star biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump list of US-designated ‘foreign terrorist organizations’ in Latin America grows to 21 (opens Durango Herald in a new tab)
Durango Herald — is Durango Herald biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump list of US-designated 'foreign terrorist organizations' in Latin America grows to 21 (opens Associated Press News in a new tab)
Associated Press News — is Associated Press News biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
2- Trump list of US-designated ‘foreign terrorist organizations’ in Latin America grows to 21 (opens My Mother Lode in a new tab)
My Mother Lode — is My Mother Lode biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump list of US-designated ‘foreign terrorist organizations’ in Latin America grows to 21 (opens The Record in a new tab)
The Record — is The Record biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
5- Tigers Remain in the Spotlight of the Shield of the Americas After Being Designated Terrorists, Says Roberto Kury (opens El Universo in a new tab)
El Universo — is El Universo biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump list of US-designated ‘foreign terrorist organizations’ in Latin America grows to 21 (opens New York Post in a new tab)
New York Post — is New York Post biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump admin's list of US-designated 'foreign terrorist' groups in Latin America expands to 21 (opens Fox News in a new tab)
- The U.S. Has 21 Criminal Groups on Its List of Terrorist Organizations: How Many Are From Mexico? (opens El Financiero in a new tab)
El Financiero — is El Financiero biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump list of US-designated ‘foreign terrorist organizations’ in Latin America grows to 21 (opens LA Daily News in a new tab)
LA Daily News — is LA Daily News biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
6- Trump list of U.S.-designated 'foreign terrorist organizations' in Latin America grows to 21 (opens BizToc in a new tab)
- Trump list of US-designated ‘foreign terrorist organizations’ in Latin America grows to 21 (opens New Delhi Times in a new tab)
New Delhi Times — is New Delhi Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US Raises to 21 Criminal Groups in Latin America Designated as Terrorists; Mexico Tops the List - Entre Lineas (opens entrelineas.com.mx in a new tab)
entrelineas.com.mx — is entrelineas.com.mx biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump Administration Expands List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Groups in Latin America to 21 (opens Portal Mix Vale in a new tab)
Portal Mix Vale — is Portal Mix Vale biased? Our profile of this outlet
- The List of US Designated Terrorist Groups in Latin America and the Caribbean Grows to 21 (opens Independent Español in a new tab)
Independent Español — is Independent Español biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Trump list of US-designated 'foreign terrorist organizations' (opens WBAL in a new tab)
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
![Lula delivers a victory speech after winning a fourth term in the presidential runoff in Brazil, on October 25, 2026 [Andre Penner/AP Photo]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/ap_6adecb3c73c77-1792985916.jpg?resize=1920%2C1440)