SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Whether unknowingly or unwillingly, people might be working with drug cartels, now labeled as terrorist organizations by the U.S. State Department.
Alfredo Alvarez, a renowned Mexican journalist, recently published a report warning companies and merchants to take extreme care of their operations by examining who their clients and business partners are.
He warns that with the declaration of drug cartels as “terrorist organizations,” any individual or legal entity linked, willingly or unwillingly, to any of the cartels’ economic interests is subject to consequences.
Alvarez states that penalties include suspension of travel visas, fines, criminal prosecution for those who have had business ventures linked to cartels.
He urges individuals and companies to seek legal advice “because there is a high risk that you will have dealings today, or with someone who tomorrow will fall into the hands of the United States for something illegal, and you will be associated as a sponsor or facilitator of these organizations.”
Alvarez refers to the Sinaloa cartel’s money laundering and other activities on both sides of the border. He cites U.S. law saying that those who may have done “sensitive business” such as lawyers, accountants, currency exchange offices, warehouse rentals, truck rental companies and cargo shipping lines may face serious questions.
He goes on to say innocent behavior such as buying a used cellphone that perhaps “some bad guy used,” and a call was recorded during an illegal transaction, could have consequences to the current owner of the phone.
The report reiterates the need for businesses and individuals to familiarize themselves and research the people with whom they may be doing business.
Alvarez publishes a news website and is based in the city of Tijuana.
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