US Freezes Sinaloa Cartel Assets in Fentanyl, Human Trafficking Crackdown

The United States announced Tuesday it was seizing assets belonging to two transnational gangs known for trafficking fentanyl and people into the country – the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel and Colombian Clan Del Golfo (CDG).
Known for its role in smuggling people through the notorious Dairen Gap in Panama, CDG is also one of Colombia’s largest drug traffickers, the U.S. Department of the Treasury explained.
Sinaloa, meanwhile, allegedly sets up businesses in Mexico which mostly appear legitimate, but are used as part of its fentanyl operation across the border with the U.S.
“President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to using every tool at our disposal to combat the cartels that are poisoning our communities with fentanyl and other deadly drugs,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in a press release.
“Treasury will remain relentless in disrupting the financing that fuels illicit fentanyl trafficking, including the business ventures that line the pockets of Sinaloa Cartel members.”
The restrictions on the two groups, effectively preventing them from accessing assets held in the U.S., reflect an ongoing effort to thwart efforts by transnational criminal gangs operating in the country. Over 350 individuals have been sanctioned over the past two years, the Treasury said.
In June, the U.S. Department of State announced rewards totaling $8 million for information on CDG leaders responsible for trafficking people, and weapons, through Darien.
The dense jungle route was used by over half a million migrants heading north in 2023, headed for the southern Mexico border, often with the aim of reaching the U.S. In July, the UN’s refugee agency UNHCR told Newsweek that Darien presented “multiple serious and life-threatening concerns” for migrants, with many reporting being victims of violent crime or sexual abuse on their journey.
The actions taken on Tuesday saw five Colombian nationals targeted, along with two businesses in Mexico linked to Sinaloa.
One of those – Nieves y Paletas EVI – operates as a frozen dessert business in multiple locations in Culiacan, Pueblos Unidos and Tacuichamona, but authorities allege it was started with the proceeds from fentanyl sales.
The other – Farmacia y Mini Super Trinidad – is a pharmacy and supermarket in Nogales, Sonora, just across the border from Arizona. It is owned and controlled by known drug-trafficker Jose Arnoldo Morgan Huerta (“Chachio”), the brother of a Sinaloa Cartel “plaza boss”, Juan Carlos Morgan Huerta (“Cacayo”).
Cacayo is known to have overseen the trafficking of “multi-ton” shipments of drugs over the border, including cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl.
If a U.S. citizen patronizes these businesses, or is found to have dealings with them, then they could face civil or criminal penalties.
U.S. authorities have already sanctioned and arrested individuals linked to the Sinaloa Cartel, including boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who appeared in court in New York on Sept. 13.
These actions have reportedly prompted a rise in cartel-related violence in Mexico in recent weeks, as factions of the Sinaloa gang clashed.
The Biden-Harris administration and the Mexican government have drawn criticism from Republicans over their handling of the southern border crisis.
Eric Hovde, the Republican candidate for the Wisconsin Senatorial election, has accused Biden of an “open border” policy that has “emboldened drug cartels to flood our streets with fentanyl”.
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