US Treasury Sanctions CJNG Cartel and Affiliates for Fuel Smuggling Operations
En resumen
- Treasury has imposed sanctions on two individuals and nine companies linked to Mexico's CJNG cartel for their involvement in fuel smuggling and tax evasion schemes generating millions for the organization.
- A financial alert was also issued to banks.
Resumen generado por IA
The U.S. Treasury has announced a series of sanctions and a new bank alert aimed at the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Mexico’s most powerful criminal enterprise. These actions target the cartel’s expanding financial operations beyond traditional drug trafficking.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on two Mexican men and nine companies involved in transportation, financial services and real estate. These entities are accused of ties to a cartel-linked fuel theft ring, which allegedly evades Mexican taxes and generates tens of millions of dollars annually for the CJNG.
Additionally, the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued an alert to financial institutions. This alert identifies red flags for fuel smuggling from the U.S. into Mexico, often part of schemes designed to evade Mexican taxes.
“Today’s action highlights the extent to which Mexico’s cartels are expanding beyond traditional drug trafficking to generate revenue for their criminal organizations, which continue to traffic deadly drugs that kill Americans,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a statement. “Treasury's actions targeting these illicit revenue streams advance the Trump Administration's priority of dismantling these terrorist organizations and making America safe again."
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has acknowledged the New Generation Cartel’s presence in 21 of Mexico’s 32 states, surpassing the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, which is estimated to operate in 19 states. Last year, President Donald Trump designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and five other Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
Mexican authorities have in recent years seized million gallons of stolen diesel, gasoline and petroleum distillates from states bordering Texas. Organized crime taps pipelines and diverts fuel to service stations forced to buy from cartels or sell it directly in the streets.
U.S. authorities have even accused the Jalisco New Generation cartel of operating its own service stations.
