In the weeks before U.S. President Donald Trump’s declaration last month that he would forge ahead with designating Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, Cabinet members and top aides from across the government recommended against it, five people knowledgeable about the matter told Reuters. The recommendations, which some of the sources described as unanimous, have not been reported previously. Another key concern was that the designations could make it easier for migrants to win asylum in the
United States by claiming they were fleeing terrorism, the senior administration official and two other sources said.