Calling MS-13 Terrorists Will Only Make Violence Worse for Everyone

On February 20, 2025, the U.S. State Department declared Mara Salvatrucha, known as MS-13, a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The move, heralded as a bold strike against crime, promises to dismantle a gang notorious for drug trafficking, murder, and extortion. At first glance, it feels like a decisive step toward safety. Who wouldn’t want to cripple a group led by figures like Yulan Adonay Archaga Carías, a man linked to cocaine floods and brutal violence across the Americas?

But this designation isn’t the silver bullet it’s sold as. It’s a flashy gesture that risks deepening the very problems it claims to solve. By framing MS-13 as terrorists, the government leans on a blunt, militarized approach that ignores the gang’s roots in poverty, displacement, and systemic failure. The label may satisfy a hunger for tough-on-crime optics, but it sidesteps the human toll of such policies, both here and in Central America.

This isn’t about excusing MS-13’s atrocities. Their crimes are real, their victims countless. Yet the terrorist tag, paired with a $5 million bounty on Archaga Carías, feels less like justice and more like a headline-grab. It elevates a criminal gang to the status of global threat, inflating their mystique while diverting attention from smarter, more humane solutions. The stakes are too high for such missteps.

What’s at play here is a choice: double down on punishment or tackle the conditions that breed gangs. The former is loud and visible; the latter is harder but lasting. History shows that heavy-handed tactics often backfire, and the evidence suggests this path could harm more than it heals.

Designating MS-13 as a terrorist group unlocks a arsenal of counterterrorism tools: asset freezes, travel bans, and harsh penalties for anyone linked to the gang. Supporters argue this will choke their finances and deter recruits. But research casts doubt on these claims. Studies on Foreign Terrorist Organization designations show they rarely dismantle criminal networks. Instead, they can escalate violence as groups like MS-13 lash out to prove their resilience.

The legal fit is shaky, too. MS-13’s motives are profit and power, not ideology. Unlike groups like ISIS, their violence lacks a political core, making terrorism charges a clumsy tool for prosecution. This mismatch complicates court cases and risks alienating allies who see the label as overreach. In Central America, where MS-13 operates, governments already strained by corruption and weak institutions may bristle at what feels like U.S. meddling.

Then there’s the human cost. The designation greenlights aggressive enforcement, from mass arrests to deportations. In April 2025, Border Patrol in Maine nabbed a Salvadoran MS-13 affiliate, part of a sweep that’s detained 218 gang members this year. These actions sound like wins, but they often sweep up low-level players or even non-members, tearing apart families and communities. Deportations, meanwhile, export violence back to Central America, where weak systems struggle to contain returning gang members.

Contrast this with proven alternatives. New York City’s anti-gang model, which pairs street outreach with job training and counseling, has slashed youth crime without alienating communities. It’s not perfect, but it works by addressing why kids join gangs: lack of opportunity, fractured families, and a search for belonging. Labeling MS-13 as terrorists ignores these truths, betting instead on fear and force.

MS-13 didn’t spring up in a vacuum. Born in the 1980s among Salvadoran refugees in Los Angeles, it grew amid civil war’s scars and U.S. deportation policies that sent young men back to a region ill-equipped to absorb them. Central America’s Northern Triangle, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, became a breeding ground for gangs, fueled by poverty, corruption, and the cocaine trade’s grip. Today, the region’s homicide rates rank among the world’s highest, with MS-13 and rivals vying for control.

The cocaine trade, a key driver of MS-13’s power, thrives on Central America’s role as a transit hub. In 2024, Panama alone seized 117 tons of drugs, mostly cocaine, much of it funneled through ports and free trade zones. Yet interdiction hasn’t stemmed the tide. Trafficking networks, fragmented and adaptive, use everything from drones to corrupt officials to keep drugs flowing. About 90% of U.S.-bound cocaine crosses the Mexico border, feeding violence at every step.

U.S. policies have often worsened this cycle. The Trump administration’s cuts to Central American aid, including programs for at-risk youth, left communities vulnerable to gangs. While some USAID funding has been restored, the focus remains on enforcement over prevention. This shortsightedness fuels migration, as families flee violence only to face deportation and gang recruitment back home. The terrorist label risks amplifying this chaos, pushing MS-13 to double down on brutality to maintain their grip.

There’s a way out, but it demands courage to rethink what justice looks like. Instead of terrorist labels and bounties, the U.S. could invest in Central America’s future. Programs like the Central American Regional Security Initiative have shown promise, training law enforcement and supporting community projects. But they need scale and staying power, not stop-start funding tied to political whims.

At home, the focus should shift to prevention. Evidence-based programs, offering mentorship, education, and jobs, can pull youth away from gangs before they’re in too deep. These efforts cost less than mass incarceration or militarized crackdowns, and they build trust in communities wary of overpolicing. International cooperation, too, must prioritize local capacity over U.S.-driven agendas, respecting sovereignty while targeting corruption that lets gangs thrive.

None of this is easy. It lacks the instant gratification of a wanted poster or a high-profile arrest. But it’s the only way to break the cycle of violence that MS-13 exploits. The alternative, doubling down on labels and raids, risks entrenching a problem that’s already cost too many lives.

The decision to brand MS-13 as terrorists reflects a broader failure to grapple with crime’s complexity. It’s a move that plays well in news cycles but falters in the real world, where gangs feed on desperation and distrust. By prioritizing punishment over prevention, it leaves communities on both sides of the border to bear the consequences.

A different vision is possible, one that sees safety not in bounties or deportations but in opportunity and justice. It’s time to choose solutions that heal rather than harm, that address the roots of violence rather than its symptoms. The path isn’t quick or flashy, but it’s the one that leads to a future worth fighting for.