The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned more than a dozen individuals and entities across two networks linked to the Sinaloa Cartel’s fentanyl trafficking. One network, led by Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles, collected bulk cash in the United States and converted it into cryptocurrency for transfer to the cartel in Mexico while also supporting narcotics shipments. The second, headed by fugitive Jesus Gonzalez Penuelas, trafficked illicit drugs into the United States and laundered proceeds for the cartel. OFAC acted under Executive Order 14059 and Executive Order 13224, as amended, following a Homeland Security Task Force-led investigation involving the Drug Enforcement Administration and coordination with Mexico’s financial intelligence unit. The designations cover Ojeda Aviles’s money broker Jesus Alonso Aispuro Felix, associate Rodrigo Alarcon Palomares, security adviser Alfredo Orozco Romero, two Mexico-based businesses and relatives alleged to act as front persons, as well as Gonzalez Penuelas and five associates involved in drug production, distribution, bulk cash movement, and money laundering. All property and interests in property of the designated persons in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked, U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them, and entities owned 50 percent or more by blocked persons are also blocked. Treasury also said foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitate significant transactions for persons designated under Executive Order 13224 may face U.S. correspondent or payable-through account restrictions.
U.S. Department of the Treasury2026-05-20
U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions more than a dozen Sinaloa Cartel-linked figures and companies over fentanyl trafficking and crypto laundering
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated more than a dozen individuals and entities in two networks linked to the Sinaloa Cartel’s fentanyl trafficking, targeting bulk cash-to-cryptocurrency conversion, drug trafficking, and related money laundering. The designations, under Executive Orders 14059 and 13224, block all U.S. property and interests in property of listed persons, prohibit U.S. persons from dealing with them, and extend to entities they own 50 percent or more. Treasury also warned that foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for persons designated under Executive Order 13224 may face restrictions on U.S. correspondent or payable-through accounts.