(image:photobucket)

President Barack Obama signed an executive order Monday targeting powerful international gangs.

The White House specifically outed four gangs including: the Yakuza in Japan, The Brother’s Circle in former Soviet bloc countries, The Camorra in Italy and Los Zetas in Mexico saying...

“These organizations facilitate and aggravate violent civil conflicts and increasingly facilitate the activities of other dangerous persons. Such organizations are becoming increasingly sophisticated and dangerous to the United States”

So how do you attack a global crime force? Apparently you just aim for the wallet. Mainjustice.com reports sanctions are the new strategy.

“The new tools promoted under the strategy include a sanctions program to block the property of the worst groups and bar group members from entering the United States; a new program to reward tipsters with information that leads to the arrests; and proposed legislation to make it easier to investigate and prosecute the global networks.”
 

But why issue the order now? A writer for the Washington post quotes the strategy saying that technology has given new power to some old foes.
 

“[The gangs were] largely regional in scope, hierarchically structured, and had only occasional links to terrorism...Today’s criminal networks are fluid, striking new alliances with other networks around the world and engaging in a wide range of illicit activities, including cybercrime and providing support for terrorism.”

Sanctioning international gangs--is it really enough? According to USA Today, President Obama isn’t planning to take them all on alone. They quote him saying he hopes to start a global initiative.

“[The strategy] serves as an invitation for enhanced international cooperation...We encourage our partners and allies to echo the commitment we have made here and join in building a new framework for international cooperation to protect all our citizens from the violence, harm, and exploitation wrought by transnational organized crime"

Follow Newsy on Twitter @Newsy_Videos for more video news in your stream.

Transcript by Newsy.