Trump treasury turns up the heat on powerful drug cartel

The Department of the Treasury sanctioned five Mexico-based leaders of Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) on Wednesday in conjunction with two executive orders signed by President Donald Trump targeting cartels and illicit drugs.

The sanctions target five members of the CJNG, including cartel leader Ruben Oseguera Cervantes (a.k.a. “El Mencho”), along with three other senior leaders and one commander in the organization, according to a press release from the Treasury. The sanctions are placed in accordance with Executive Orders 14059 and 13224, which target foreign organizations and transactions involved in the global illicit drug trade.

“CJNG’s reign of terror across Mexico and its trafficking of fentanyl into the United States has destroyed countless innocent lives,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a prepared statement. “The United States remains strongly committed to leveraging all available tools to degrade the capacity of CJNG and other cartels to flood our streets with dangerous drugs and perpetrate heinous acts of violence against civilians.”

The CJNG was designated as a terrorist organization in February of this year, described by the Department of State as having “a presence in nearly every part of Mexico,” and engaging in crimes such as extortion, migrant smuggling, oil and mineral theft, and weapons trade. The cartel’s global operations include interests in Australia, China, and Southeast Asia, according to the State Department.

The sanctions block all transactions with five designated cartel leaders and any entities they control, carrying penalties for those who engage in business with them, including participating foreign financial institutions.

The CJNG controls facilities in Mexico that produce fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine, among other illicit drugs, the Treasury report states. A major asset in the terrorist organization’s operations is the deep-water port of Manzanillo, a venue through which the group conducts international trafficking.

The cartel, in an effort to expand its influence and consolidate control of the Mexican drug market, engaged in numerous criminal activities in the past. The cartel’s criminal activity has seen timeshare owners defrauded, students killed and dissolved in acid, and human heads used to deliver warnings. The organization has also to the recent murder of Mexican social media influencer Valeria Marquez, according to the release.

Officials are offering $15 million for information leading to the arrest of leader Ruben Oseguera Cervantes and $5 million for information on regional commander Audias Flores Silva, per the Treasury statement.

The Department of State previously sanctioned three Mexican nationals and two Mexico-based entities linked to the CJNG in May, citing fentanyl trafficking, fuel theft, and crude oil smuggling as reasons for the sanctions.

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