US Sanctions Sinaloa Cartel Chemical Precursor Supplier Network in India & Guatemala

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned more than 20 individuals and companies involved in the global supply chain of chemical precursors and the production of synthetic drugs that have collaborated with the Sinaloa Cartel, specifically Los Chapitos and Los Mayos.

The precursor chemicals for producing both fentanyl and methamphetamine were shipped from India through Guatemala, to Sinaloa and Guadalajara in Mexico. Several of the suppliers and logistical companies sanctioned as part of this network have been reported to have supplied chemicals to both CDS and CJNG groups.

Chemical Precursors from India

From India and Guatemala, through Sinaloa and Guadalajara in Mexico, the sanctioned individuals and firms are now prevented from carrying out any type of business or financial transaction on U.S. soil, and all their accounts in that country have been frozen. 

The first person named is Satishkumar Hareshbjai Sutaria, an Indian trader of chemical precursors who, along with a sales associate, Yuktakumari Ashishkumar Modi, sent shipments of chemical precursors to Mexico and Guatemala to synthesize fentanyl.

Both used the companies SR Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals and Agrat Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals to ship goods to the Americas, with counterfeit labels on the shipments. They were arrested in India in March 2025 and have now been sanctioned, along with the two companies they used.

Guatemalan Intermediaries

Also designated were Guatemalan national Jaime Augusto Barrientos Camaz and his companies J and C Import and Central Logística de Servicios. Barrientos was responsible for transporting chemical precursors and even finished fentanyl in collaboration with Agrat Chemicals and SR Chemicals, the Indian companies.

It has been reported that he received up to 116 kilos of N-Boc-4-Piperidone, a precursor chemical for fentanyl, in just two months.

"The intermediaries, acting in tandem with the Mexican cartels, facilitate the logistics and shipments of these chemicals to Mexico or Guatemala via maritime cargo. The shipments regularly contain kilograms of deadly fentanyl precursors and bear false labels as 'safe chemicals.' The intermediaries then transfer the chemicals to individuals known as 'cooks,' who operate clandestine synthetic drug labs controlled by the cartels," the U.S. Treasury Department stated.

'Dora' and 'Tobilio' the Mexicans linked to Los Chapitos were arrested last month in Mexico.

Mexican Companies Sanctioned

Karina Guadalupe Carrillo Torres, alias Dora, and her husband, Regulo Acosta Hernández, alias El Tobilio, were sanctioned; both are linked to the Los Chapitos faction.

Carrillo Torres is identified as an intermediary for chemical precursors such as 1-Boc-4-Hydroxypiperidine, in collaboration with the sons of "El Chapo" Guzmán.

Her husband, Acosta Hernández, is a fentanyl and cocaine supplier who is also involved in money laundering. He and his wife operate the companies Desarrollos Cartok SA de CV and Comercializadora Grupo Carhern, which have also been sanctioned. 

Carrillo and Acosta were arrested in Mexico in March 2026 for drug trafficking.

In Mexico City, Reyma Global Trading, an importer of goods that has obtained large quantities of chemicals used in the production of methamphetamine by various criminal organizations such as the Sinaloa Cartel, was sanctioned.

María Viridiana Rugerio Arriaga, owner of the company Química Soluciones y Logística Internal Bajío, in León, Guanajuato, was also sanctioned. She uses the company to acquire chemical precursors in India and then sells them for the production of fentanyl and methamphetamine for the Sinaloa Cartel.

Similarly, the company Aduaeasy was sanctioned, accused of receiving shipments of chemicals for the production of methamphetamine from Asia.

Also sanctioned were Jalisco-based businessman and importer José de Jesús Ramírez Torres and his companies Corporativo y Enlace Ram, Enlace Forwarding México, Cargo Global 3PS, and E-Ram Group, which is based in Miami, Florida, USA. He uses his companies to import chemical precursors for methamphetamine production.

Mexican Chemists & Traffickers

Alejandro Reynoso Jiménez is a chemist and businessman who operated clandestine laboratories via Botánica 2000 for the production of synthetic drugs for Los Chapitos, particularly dedicated to the production of fentanyl pills that are eventually shipped to the United States. He was known as the "Shadow Chemist."

He was arrested in Madrid, Spain, in November 2025. Spanish law enforcement detained Alejandro Reynoso-Jiménez, whom US authorities consider one of the most dangerous fentanyl producers. He arrived on a flight from Mexico City and, according to investigators, was planning to travel around Europe, but did not have time to leave the airport as he was arrested immediately after passing through passport control.

Reynoso-Jiménez is a figure well known to US and Mexican intelligence agencies. He is considered one of the key organizers supplying fentanyl to the United States, as well as someone capable of producing up to a ton of the substance every month. US authorities have long sought his capture and extradition, viewing him as a major link in the international drug trafficking network.

At the time of his arrest, he had a Mexican passport and documents confirming his identity. US authorities had previously provided their Spanish counterparts with all the necessary information, including the suspect’s biometric data and a physical description.

Ramiro Baltazar Félix Heras, known as "Güero Reyna" or "Félix" a high-ranking member of the Los Mayos faction, linked to the trafficking of fentanyl and methamphetamine to the United States.

El Güero Reyna coordinates the faction's operations in Bacata, Los Vasitos, and Cosalá, manages several laboratories dedicated to the production of illicit substances, and leads the armed cell “Los F1” or “Gente del F1.”

Sources OFAC, Milenio, USSpain, Crux, Khoran

Categories: india, Los Chapitos, Los Mayos, OFAC Sanctions, precursor chemicals, sinaloa cartel