A leader of the Barrio 18 gang stands handcuffed facing a wall after his arrest in San Salvador, El Salvador, on July 28, 2015. Salvador Melendez/AP Photo
The U.S. State Department has designated the Barrio 18 street gang as a foreign terrorist organization, expanding Washington’s campaign against transnational gangs and cartels.
“Today, the Department of State is designating Barrio 18 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT),” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Sept. 23 statement.
