The Kingpin Act, established in the 1990s, allows for international sanctions and the prosecution of Americans aiding cartels. Analysts say the law broadens the scope to target individuals or groups suspected of assisting criminal organizations, making it easier to prosecute cartel members operating abroad under U.S. law.

The U.S. State Department is moving to designate Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa Cartel and six other Latin American drug cartels and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, according to an unpublished notice in the Federal Register posted Wednesday.