The U.S. State Department designated eight cartels and gangs operating in Latin America as terrorist organizations, following an executive order President Donald Trump signed during his first day in office.

The organizations are accused of posing a significant threat to the country’s national security, foreign policy or economy, according to a posting in the Federal Registry.

They include Tren de Aragua, Mara Salvatrucha, Cartel de Sinaloa, Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion, Carteles Unidos, Cartel del Noreste, Cartel del Golfo and La Nueva Familia Michoacana.

The move, which can result in penalties for people or firms doing business with designated entities, raises risks for financial firms, especially in Mexico, which could be inadvertently entangled with cartel businesses given their reach throughout the economy. The designations have also set off alarms over cross-border U.S. law enforcement actions.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that her country wouldn’t accept any U.S. actions in its territory without coordination with Mexico.

“If this decree has to do with extraterritorial actions, we do not accept those,” she said. “If they do this to intensify investigations in the U.S. of laundering money from drugs sold in the U.S., and of the groups operating in the U.S. that sell those drugs, that’s very good. What we don’t accept is any violation of our sovereignty.”

The cartels were designated under the authority of an executive order signed by President George W. Bush following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. That order provides for the freezing of property associated with the cartels in the U.S. and prohibits U.S. persons from doing business with the entities.

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(With assistance from Michael O'Boyle.)

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