The United States has designated a notorious drug-trafficking organization in Colombia as a terrorist group.
The US Treasury Department added the group, known as Clan del Golfo or Gulf Clan, to its list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTOs).
The designation came just hours after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order classifying the drug fentanyl as a 'weapon of mass destruction'.
The two moves are seen as a further ramping-up of the Trump administration's war on drugs which has also seen it carry out more than 20 lethal strikes on boats suspected to be carrying drugs in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
More than 90 people were killed in the strikes on the boats, which some legal experts say breach the law.
Clan del Golfo is the latest Latin American criminal group to be added to the US Treasury's list of FTOs.
The group has been engaging in criminal activities for decades, mainly trafficking cocaine from Colombia - the largest producer of the drug - to destinations in the US and Europe. However, the Clan del Golfo, which is based in the northern Urabá region of Colombia, also plays a key role in smuggling migrants through the Darién Gap, the expanse of jungle linking Colombia to Panama.
In a statement announcing its designation as an FTO, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio noted that the group was also behind terrorist attacks against public officials, law enforcement and military personnel, and civilians in Colombia. It is estimated to have thousands of members and is thought to be the largest cocaine-trafficking gang currently operating in Colombia.
The move comes less than a fortnight after Colombia's President, Gustavo Petro, signed a landmark agreement with the criminal group aimed at bringing peace to the areas under its control.
Petro has campaigned on a promise to bring 'total peace' to the South American country, which has for decades suffered from cartel and guerrilla violence, but relations between the Colombian leader and the Trump administration have been fraught with tension.
The immediate effect of the FTO designation is that the US will have more powers to punish the group, freezing any assets Clan del Golfo may hold at US financial institutions.
Trump has argued that the lethal strikes on alleged drug boats are saving US lives by preventing fentanyl from reaching American shores, as fentanyl abuse has triggered a severe public health emergency in the US.
This recent designation signifies a potential escalation in narcotics enforcement and further complicates ongoing negotiations for peace in Colombia, highlighting the complex interplay of international drug trafficking and geopolitical relations.
