Thanks to 'laser focus' on cartels, Trump admin creates new corporate risks in Mexico
By 
Aaron Nicodemus2025-08-06T14:00:00
The Trump administration’s designation of Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations in February has made doing business in Mexico riskier than ever before for corporations.
Mexico is the top trading partner of the U.S., with trade worth a record-high $840 billion in 2024. Hundreds of U.S. companies have facilities and offices in the country, including Ford, GM, Pepsi, Medtronic, Intel, Honeywell, and Kraft.
Cartels are omnipresent in many parts of Mexico, according to the U.S. State Department. These organized crime groups control entire regions, unions, roads, and other infrastructure. Doing business in Mexico has long been a thorny problem for U.S. corporations, which have tried to avoid enriching cartels while also understanding that their reach in Mexican society and government is formidable.
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