The U.S. government recently announced that it is imposing sanctions on 13 alleged members of the Sinaloa Cartel and four businesses operating along the Sonora-Arizona border. Brian E. Nelson of the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence hopes that freezing their assets will help in the war against illicit fentanyl suppliers.
"The United States will aggressively pursue all who are complicit operators and facilitators of these illicit fentanyl networks Treasury will continue to use its authorities to expose and isolate those who profit from deadly fentanyl sales in the United States", said Brian E. Nelson.
The Treasury Department has alleged that these 13 individuals are responsible for a significant portion of the illicit fentanyl trafficking into the U.S. Among the named individuals is Morgan Huerta, a “plaza boss” for the Sinaloa Cartel, who manages the cartel operations in the city of Nogales and oversees the trafficking of drugs such as fentanyl, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine into the U.S.
Most of the other 12 people who were sanctioned are a part of Huerta’s criminal organization, a few of whom are members of his family. The four businesses that were sanctioned are all Mexican-based businesses that owned, controlled, or acted on behalf of Huerta or one of the other sanctioned individuals.
According to AP News, this will cut off their ability to work with Americans and block their U.S. assets.
These sanctions followed similar measures taken in Sept against nine Sinaloa Cartel affiliates and Colombia’s Clan del Golfo criminal organization leader.
Border Report indicated that Huerta was indicted on drug trafficking charges in 2021. He is currently considered a fugitive from justice. Due to these sanctions, all property and interests named will be blocked and reported to the Office of Foreign Assets control.
The number of fentanyl deaths in the U.S has risen significantly over recent years. About two-thirds of 100,000 overdose deaths reported since 2020 have been related to fentanyl.
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram has said that the Sinaloa Cartel “pose the greatest criminal drug threat the United States has ever faced.” She also said they have an advanced criminal organization network, with members in every state in the U.S. and over 100 countries worldwide.
