On Tuesday, September 23, 2025, the Trump administration took a bold and controversial step by designating the notorious Barrio 18 gang as a foreign terrorist organization. This move, announced by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, marks a significant escalation in the United States’ ongoing campaign against criminal groups operating throughout Latin America and beyond. Barrio 18, also known as Mara 18, now finds itself on a list previously reserved for groups like al Qaeda and the Islamic State, a list that has rapidly expanded to include some of the hemisphere’s most infamous criminal organizations.
Barrio 18’s story is a transnational one, rooted in migration and shaped by decades of violence. According to WPLG Local10.com, the gang was originally formed in Los Angeles by young Salvadoran immigrants seeking protection in the city’s tough neighborhoods. Over time, as members were deported back to Central America, the gang’s influence exploded in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Today, the U.S. State Department describes Barrio 18 as "one of the largest gangs in our hemisphere," responsible for attacks on officials, security personnel, and civilians across the region.
“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,” Secretary Rubio stated on Tuesday. This sentiment was echoed in a separate release, where Rubio emphasized that the designation "further demonstrates the Trump administration’s unwavering commitment to dismantling cartels and gangs and ensuring the safety of the American people."
The gang’s criminal reach is as brutal as it is broad. FBI reports from 2016, cited by WPLG Local10.com, paint a chilling picture: Barrio 18 has been known to recruit teenage boys, subjecting them to a two-year initiation process that reportedly requires a murder for full membership. The violence is not just theoretical or confined to Central America. Last year, nine members of Barrio 18 pleaded guilty to federal racketeering charges in New York, part of a conspiracy that spanned Texas, New York, and El Salvador and included the murder of a 15-year-old boy in 2016 for allegedly disrespecting gang members in Hempstead.
The Trump administration’s decision to elevate Barrio 18 to the level of a foreign terrorist organization is not without precedent, but it is a significant departure from tradition. Historically, as BBC and Devdiscourse report, the foreign terrorist label was reserved for politically motivated groups. In recent years, however, the Trump administration has expanded the definition to target criminal syndicates whose primary focus is not ideology but profit, especially through drug trafficking, extortion, and other illicit activities. Barrio 18 now joins rival gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, and Mexican cartels like the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel on this list.
The State Department’s announcement also noted that Barrio 18 has been named a "Specially Designated Global Terrorist," a status that brings with it a suite of financial and legal restrictions. “The United States will continue to protect our nation by keeping illicit drugs off our streets and disrupting the revenue streams funding the violent and criminal activity of vicious gangs and drug cartels,” the State Department said in its Tuesday statement.
But what does this designation actually mean for law enforcement—both in the U.S. and in Central America? That’s a question that remains unanswered. According to Devdiscourse, the implications for regional law enforcement are still unclear, even as the designation signals a tougher stance. In practice, the foreign terrorist label gives U.S. authorities greater latitude to freeze assets, prosecute members, and justify military actions against suspected traffickers. Indeed, the Trump administration has already used similar designations to justify lethal strikes against vessels in the Caribbean believed to be carrying drugs to the United States, actions that have resulted in fatalities and drawn criticism from some lawmakers over legal justifications and potential overreach.
President Donald Trump himself weighed in on the decision during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on September 23, 2025. He thanked El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele for his government’s cooperation, specifically for detaining Barrio 18 members in the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT), a massive prison built to house suspected terrorists and gang members. “For the successful and professional job they have done in receiving and jailing so many criminals that entered our country,” Trump said, expressing gratitude for Bukele’s efforts.
Bukele’s war on gangs has been both lauded and criticized. According to multiple sources, including BBC and Devdiscourse, Bukele’s administration has imprisoned more than 1 percent of El Salvador’s population for alleged gang ties—a crackdown that has dramatically reduced crime rates but also triggered widespread concern over human rights abuses and lack of due process. Critics argue that mass detentions and harsh prison conditions have swept up many with little evidence of gang affiliation, while supporters point to plummeting homicide rates and safer streets.
The Trump administration’s approach to transnational crime has been similarly polarizing. Since the start of Trump’s second term, more than a dozen groups have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations, reflecting what supporters see as an aggressive and necessary response to a growing threat. Detractors, including several Democratic lawmakers, have questioned the wisdom and legality of using military force against suspected traffickers and worry about the precedent set by expanding the terrorist designation to include non-political criminal gangs.
For communities in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, the designation is both a recognition of the terror inflicted by Barrio 18 and a source of uncertainty. Will the new label help disrupt the gang’s operations, or will it complicate efforts at rehabilitation and reintegration for former members? Will it encourage further cooperation between the U.S. and Central American governments, or will it stoke tensions over sovereignty and human rights?
As the dust settles, one thing is clear: the fight against transnational gangs like Barrio 18 is evolving, with the United States and its allies willing to use every tool at their disposal. Whether this latest move will deliver lasting security or create new challenges remains to be seen. For now, the designation stands as a testament to the high stakes and hard choices facing policymakers on both sides of the border.