Hughes Hubbard Announces New Cartel/Foreign Terrorist Organization Designations Taskforce

April 15, 2025 – The firm is pleased to announce it has formed a new cross-disciplinary Cartel/Foreign Terrorist Organization Designations Taskforce comprised of lawyers from across the Washington, DC, and New York offices. 

The taskforce, which includes partners Mike DeBernardis, Diego Durán de la Vega, Gaela Gehring Flores, Mike Huneke, Jeremy Paner, Sean Reilly and Marc Weinstein, brings expertise from Hughes Hubbard’s Sanctions, Export Controls and Anti-Money Laundering; Global Investigations, Enforcement and Compliance; White Collar and Regulatory; and International Arbitration practices. The taskforce will focus on advising companies doing business in cartel-controlled areas of Mexico and other parts of Latin America on the emerging legal risks associated with the designation of certain cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

Members of the taskforce have been closely following these developments and have written and spoken extensively on the potential implications for companies doing business in Mexico and other impacted countries in Latin America: 

• Client Alert: “Designation of Criminal Cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations Increases Compliance Risks for Companies (US or Not) Operating in Mexico and Greater Latin America”
• Paner in Law360: “Critical Steps For Navigating Intensified OFAC Enforcement”
• Paner in Law360: “Cos. Should Prepare For Mexican Payments Surveillance Tool”
• Durán de la Vega and Paner on All Things Investigations Podcast: “Terrorism Designations of Mexican Cartels Fundamentally Enhances Risk for All Companies”

The firm will host an upcoming webinar on the topic on April 15, during which Paner and Peter Piatetsky, co-founder and CEO of Castellum.AI, will present on updates on the recent U.S. terrorism designations of certain Mexican cartels.

Learn more and register for the webinar.