The Trump administration on Wednesday designated eight drug cartels — including MS-13 and the Sinaloa Cartel — as global terrorist organizations. The big picture: The move comes after President Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office vowing to crack down on cartels for a "campaign of violence and terror.

The United States on Wednesday (February 19) designated Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel and other drug cartels as global terrorist organizations, according to a Federal Register notice. Nyima Pratten reports.

The CIA under President Donald Trump has been covertly flying MQ-9 Reaper drones over Mexico to spy on drug cartels, current and former officials familiar with the matter told CNN, part of Trump’s dramatic reorientation of national security assets to the US southern border.

The CIA has sent drones on secret missions over Mexico to spy on drug cartels — and may use them for armed strikes, according to former and current officials. The covert missions, carried out with MQ-9 Reaper drones,

Mexico’s president said Wednesday that U.S. drone flights were part of a collaboration that has existed for years between the two countries, after U.S. media reported increased cross-border aerial surveillance of drug cartels.