EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – The Treasury Department has imposed economic sanctions on members of the “Mayos” faction of the Sinaloa cartel.
The sanctions to be enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control cover five individuals and 15 companies operating south of the border, as well as a separate cell engaged in fentanyl trafficking to the United States.
The sanctions imply freezing the known assets of a target, barring legitimate companies from doing business with them and levying substantial fines, among others. They came after Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley visited San Diego this week.
“The Sinaloa Cartel is a foreign terrorist organization that continues to traffic narcotics, launder its proceeds, and corrupt local officials,” Hurley said, emphasizing the Trump administration’s commitment to border security.
Cofounded by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada and others, the Sinaloa cartel in the past few years has become the main importer of fentanyl into the United States.
With the top two leaders sitting in American jails, their children are waging a war for control of the transnational criminal organizations that security experts say has left 1,800 people dead and 800 mission in the past year.
Guzman’s sons are operating under the moniker of “Los Chapitos” while Zambada’s son Ismael “El Mayito Flaco” allegedly leads “Los Mayos.”
The latter group now is in the crosshairs of both the Justice Department and Treasury.
“Los Mayos maintains a strong presence in the Mexican states of Baja California, Sonora and Zacatecas. Through alliances, Los Mayos have trafficked illicit fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana and cocaine” to the U.S., the Treasury Department said in a statement Thursday.
The group also has been known to engage in migrant smuggling.
The agency identified Juan Jose Ponce Felix, aka “El Ruso,” as the leader of the primary group of enforcers for Los Mayos. The group controls drug trafficking routes in Baja California state and Ponce is under indictment for conspiracy and other crimes in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, the Treasury Department said.
Ponce allegedly leads a “fleet of soldiers” engaged in kidnapping, torture and murder in furtherance of the cartel faction’s activities, the statement said. The U.S. government is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
As far as the group’s financials, the Treasury Department said Los Mayos controls large swaths of territory including beach property in Rosarito, Mexico. Its associates allegedly also operate some of the most popular restaurants and bars in Rosarito.
The Treasury Department previously identified some of Los Mayos financial operators including brothers Alfonso and Rene Arzate, brothers Mario Alberto and Karlo Omar Herrera Sanchez and Jesus Gonzalez Lomeli.
The Treasury has published an extensive list of the businesses linked to this faction of the Sinaloa cartel.
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