The U.S. Treasury recently sanctioned 10 individuals, many of whom are affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel. Under Secretary Brian Nelson said on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that these individuals were responsible for smuggling fentanyl and other drugs into the United States.
Nelson announced, "Today, @USTreasury sanctioned 10 individuals, including several Sinaloa Cartel affiliates and fugitives responsible for a significant portion of the illicit fentanyl and other deadly drugs trafficked into the United States."
According to Fox News, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on nine Sinaloa cartel affiliates from Mexico as well as the leader of Colombia's Clan del Golfo for their involvement in drug trafficking. These sanctions freeze their US assets and prohibit US citizens from dealing with them. The Sinaloa affiliates were targeted based on a US indictment that implicated them in fentanyl production and trafficking. The nine Sinaloa cartel members were targeted due to a US indictment in April, which centered on a faction led by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán's sons. Ovidio Guzmán López, one of these sons, was extradited to the United States and implicated in fentanyl production and distribution.
A Border Beat article said that all nine men have close ties to "Los Chapitos," as the sons of "El Chapo" are called. The first named was Jorge Humberto Figueroa Benítez who oversaw security for Los Chapitos' drug operations, managed fentanyl shipments, and led hitmen. Leobardo and Martin Garcia Corrales, linked to Los Chapitos, produced methamphetamine and fentanyl in Mexico and smuggled firearms and military gear into the country. They have close ties to El Chapo Guzmán and El Mayo Zambada. Liborio Núñez Aguirre, Samuel León Alvarado, and Carlos Mario Limón Vázquez who ran secret labs for making synthetic opioids destined for the United States were also sanctioned.
The others, said Border Beat, include Mario Alberto Jimenez Castro, who laundered money for Los Chapitos using cryptocurrencies and funds from fentanyl sales in the United States, Julio César Domínguez Hernández, who managed drug sales and profit collection, Jesús Miguel Vibanco García, who distributed fentanyl in the United States and Canada from Vancouver, and Jobanis de Jesús Ávila Villadiego, also known as Chiquito Malo, who led Colombia's Clan del Golfo and was accused of supplying cocaine to various cartels, including the Sinaloa cartel, and ordering attacks on Colombian security forces following Otoniel's extradition in May 2022.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement that the sanctions "reinforce the United States' whole government approach to saving lives by disrupting illicit drug supply chains."
