U.S. Treasury sanctions Mexican cartels for drug trafficking, extortion

Investing.com -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two Mexican cartels and seven individuals on Thursday for terrorism, drug trafficking, and agricultural extortion.

The sanctions target Carteles Unidos (also known as "United Cartels") and Los Viagras, along with their affiliated members, as part of President Trump’s directive to eliminate cartels threatening American security.

"Today’s sanctions action draws further attention to the diverse, insidious ways the cartels engage in violent activities and exploit otherwise legitimate commerce," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The action coincides with the unsealing of federal indictments against five of the sanctioned individuals in the District of Columbia and Eastern District of Tennessee. The Department of State also announced rewards for information leading to their arrest or conviction.

Carteles Unidos, previously designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February, produces and traffics synthetic opioids to the United States while engaging in extortion and violence against civilians and law enforcement in Michoacan, Mexico. The group has reportedly recruited foreign mercenaries and used improvised explosive devices that have killed Mexican soldiers.

Los Viagras, a Michoacan-based organization that traffics methamphetamine and cocaine, has recently allied with Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), a major supplier of illicit fentanyl to the U.S. The group extorts avocado and citrus growers, cattle ranchers, and entire towns.

The Treasury Department specifically targeted four Carteles Unidos members: Juan Jose Farias Alvarez (known as "El Abuelo"), the group’s leader; Luis Enrique Barragan Chavez ("Wicho"), a regional leader involved in avocado extortion; Alfonso Fernandez Magallon ("Poncho"), who recruits former military personnel; and Edgar Valeriano Orozco Cabadas ("El Kamoni"), who oversees hitmen.

Three Los Viagras leaders were also sanctioned: founder Nicolas Sierra Santana ("El Gordo"), Heladio Cisneros Flores ("La Sirena"), and César Alejandro Sepulveda Arellano ("El Botox"), who is linked to the killing of a citrus producer.

The sanctions were coordinated with the Department of Justice, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, and Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

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