Javed Ali, Texas Public Radio: "It's a complicated process for any organization to be designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization. The State Department and our government take the lead for that. If a designation were to unfold, and again, there are a lot of steps that would be involved, then it unlocks a number of law enforcement and intelligence collection and analysis opportunities or authorities to then put more pressure on any group that's designated. Now the drug cartels are different than your traditional and classic terrorist organizations, and there's over 30 groups currently listed on the State Department's website. But if the State Department were to make this designation and have it stick, again it would just allow the US government to put more pressure on the cartels."
