President Trump on Dec. 06 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
President Trump tweeted on Friday that the U.S. will "temporarily hold off" on designating Mexican cartels as terrorist organizations.
The big picture: Trump's vow to re-label Mexican drug cartels in November prompted Mexico's president to characterize the proposal as "interventionism." The Mexican foreign secretary said last month he got in contact with the U.S. government over the proposal. Trump added on Friday that he was halting the decision at President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's request.
Yes, but: Trump claimed that "all necessary work has been completed" to make the designation on Friday, and said "statutorily" the U.S. is "ready to do so."
Go deeper: Mexico reacts to Trump's vow to mark Mexican drug cartels as terrorists