Can the United States remove names from the State Department’s list of organizations that have been designated as terrorists? The answer is yes, but it is not a common practice, and this decision depends on certain premises.
Last year, for example, the government of Donald Trump removed from the list the al-Nusrah Front, also known as Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (ANF/HTS), a Sunni extremist group that had been the official arm of Al-Qaeda in Syria until breaking those ties in 2016.
The decision complied with one of the grounds used to revoke the designation, which is “to determine that the circumstances that formed the basis for the designation have changed so significantly as to justify the revocation”.
Leia também: Also read: A terrorist PCC could open a gateway for US military action in Brazil, prosecutor warns
Another possibility is that the Secretary of State considers that the United States’ national security is no longer at risk from the group, but the secretary can, in fact, revoke a designation at any time, using these conditions to justify removal.
The HTS group was the organization primarily responsible for ousting the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024, ending the civil war and taking power in Syria the following year.
In 2025, the group’s leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, declared his desire to build an inclusive and democratic Syria and promised to renounce violence. Also in May, he met with Trump in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The removal of HTS from the list under the Immigration and Nationality Act took effect on July 8, after the group announced its dissolution.
But with groups linked to international drug trafficking, the Trump administration has been tougher, making additions to the list. In February 2025, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Northwest Cartel, the Gulf Cartel, as well as the groups Nueva Familia Michoacana, Carteles Unidos and Tren de Aragua were designated as terrorists.
In September, the criminal groups Los Choneros, Los Lobos and Barrio 18 were added to the list. In January, the Gulf Clan and the Cartel de Los Soles were added and now in May the Brazilian PCC and CV were added.
To enter this list, the organization must be foreign, engage in terrorist activities or have the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activities. It also must threaten the safety of American citizens or national security.
