From Mexico's most ruthless drug cartels to Central America's most notorious street gang, these are the eight drug trafficking groups being designated terrorist organizations by US President Donald Trump's administration.

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 government is formally designating eight Latin American organized crime groups that also operate in the U.S. to be “foreign terrorist organizations.” The Trump administration is applying a “terrorist” designation that’s normally reserved for groups like the Islamic State group or al-Qaida that use violence for political ends — not for money-focused crime rings such as the Latin American cartels.