FTO

Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation is made by the US Secretary of State under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The Secretary must notify Congress 7 days before publication in the Federal Register; the designation then takes effect upon publication. Effects: material support to an FTO is a US federal crime (punishable up to 20 years' imprisonment); aliens who are members of an FTO are inadmissible to the US and deportable if present; financial institutions must report and block FTO funds. The FTO regime was created by the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. As of 2026, the State Department maintains an active FTO list including groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Hezbollah, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and from February 2025 onwards major Latin American criminal organisations (Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG, Tren de Aragua, MS-13). The Brazilian groups Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) were SDGT-designated on May 28, 2026 with FTO designation effective June 5, 2026 — a Trump 2.0 expansion of the FTO regime to organised-crime groups.

• 1 Authority: Section 219, Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)
• 2 Enabling law: Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, 1996
• 3 Designating authority: US Secretary of State (with 7-day Congressional notification)
• 4 Effects: material-support criminalisation, immigration inadmissibility, asset blocking
• 5 Penalty: up to 20 years' imprisonment for material supporters
• 6 Distinct from SDGT (immediate effect under EO 13224)
• 7 Trump 2.0 expansion to LatAm criminal orgs from February 2025
• 8 May 28, 2026: SDGT designations of CV + PCC; FTO effective June 5, 2026

The US designation of Comando Vermelho and PCC as FTOs (effective June 5, 2026) drew Brazilian President Lula's criticism as interference in Brazil's October 2026 election — and tested India's principled non-interference stance in international counter-terrorism architecture.