Venezuela’s Cartel del Soles Sanctioned as Terrorist Group Supporting Sinaloa Cartel & Tren de Aragua

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Cartel de los Soles as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist. The US stated that Cartel de los Soles is a Venezuela-based criminal group headed by Nicolas Maduro Moros and other high-ranking Venezuelan individuals in the Maduro regime that provides material support to foreign terrorist organizations threatening the peace and security of the United States, namely Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel.

“Today’s action further exposes the illegitimate Maduro regime’s facilitation of narco-terrorism through terrorist groups like Cartel de los Soles,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The Treasury Department will continue to execute on President Trump’s pledge to put America First by cracking down on violent organizations including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, and their facilitators, like Cartel de los Soles.”

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US Treasury Sanctions Los Chapitos Money Launderer Who Once Wrecked a Lambo in CDMX

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Five men accused of laundering money on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel were charged in a pair of grand jury indictments unsealed Monday in San Diego federal court.

The indictments were originally returned in 2022 against the defendants, all of whom remain at large and face drug trafficking and money laundering offenses, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Four of the five defendants were also sanctioned for their alleged roles in supporting the Sinaloa Cartel's drug trafficking activities,  particularly Los Chapitos faction.

One of the men, Salvador Diaz Rodriguez, was described by OFAC as a Mexicali-based enforcer who collected "taxes" on behalf of "a local criminal organization" and was "known to kill those who do not pay the required amount."

Diaz and co-defendant Israel Daniel Paez Vargas allegedly laundered money for the cartel, while Vargas additionally recruited people to work for co-defendant Alberto David Benguiat Jimenez, OFAC says.

Benguiat's organization has allegedly laundered more than $50 million on behalf of the cartel and Jose Angel Rivera Zazueta, who OFAC describes as a fentanyl trafficker whose organization imports precursor chemicals from China to Mexico in order to manufacture fentanyl, MDMA, crystal methamphetamine and ketamine.

To date, these money laundering investigations have resulted in charges against 51 defendants and the seizure of more than $4.1 million dollars and approximately 1,304 kilograms of methamphetamine, 34 kilograms of heroin, 11 kilograms of cocaine, and 14 kilograms of fentanyl.

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Chinese Hack Targeted US Treasury Sanctions Data

 "Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Based on Reuters Articles

Chinese government hackers breached the U.S. Treasury office that administers economic sanctions, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday, identifying targets of a cyberattack Treasury disclosed earlier this week.

Citing unnamed U.S. officials, the Washington Post said hackers compromised the Office of Foreign Assets Control and the Office of Financial Research and also targeted the office of U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

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Treasury Targets Cartel-Enabled Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Operations. Gulf Cartel Matamoros Faction Members Sanctioned By United States

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This information was released by the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY 

PRESS RELEASE 

NOVEMBER 26, 2024 

November 26, 2024

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning five Mexican individuals associated with the Gulf Cartel, one of Mexico’s most dangerous criminal organizations. Those designated today are tied to the Gulf Cartel’s involvement in criminal activities associated with illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, human smuggling, and narcotics trafficking in the Gulf of Mexico. IUU fishing often involves criminal activity, forced labor, and human rights abuses, and is often a revenue stream for criminal organizations. IUU fishing is also a threat to U.S. maritime security, as criminal organizations may use the same vessels for smuggling narcotics and humans across borders.

“Today’s action highlights how transnational criminal organizations like the Gulf Cartel rely on a variety of illicit schemes like IUU fishing to fund their operations, along with narcotics trafficking and human smuggling,” said Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith. “Treasury, as part of a whole-of-government approach to combatting transnational criminal organizations, remains committed to disrupting these networks and restricting these groups’ ability to profit from these activities.”

Today’s sanctions are the result of strong collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. This action was also coordinated closely with La Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

HARMFUL IMPACTS OF IUU FISHING

The U.S. Department of the Treasury is a member of the U.S. Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing, which was established by the Maritime Securities and Fisheries Enforcement (SAFE) Act and is the primary mechanism for coordination of counter-IUU fishing actions across the U.S. government. On June 27, 2022, President Biden issued the National Security Memorandum on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing and Associated Labor Abuses, which notes that IUU fishing and related harmful fishing practices are among the greatest threats to ocean health and are significant causes of global overfishing, contributing to the collapse or decline of fisheries that are critical to the economic growth, food systems, and ecosystems of numerous countries around the world. 

CRIMINAL OPERATIONS OF MEXICO’S GULF CARTEL 

The Gulf Cartel is a long-standing, powerful drug trafficking organization that operates throughout Tamaulipas State, Mexico. The Gulf Cartel has moved arms, drugs, and migrants into the United States, and was responsible for the kidnapping and murder of American citizens in March 2023.

On December 15, 2021, OFAC designated the Gulf Cartel pursuant to Executive Order 14059 (E.O. 14059) for having engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production. OFAC had previously sanctioned the Gulf Cartel as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker pursuant to the Kingpin Act in 2007.

EXPOSING THE GULF CARTEL’S ILLICIT LANCHA OPERATIONS

 

 

The Gulf Cartel engages in the illicit trade of red snapper and shark species through “lancha” operations based out of Playa Bagdad, also known as Playa Costa Azul, a beach located several miles south of the U.S. border. Lanchas are light, fast-moving boats utilized by Mexican fishermen that are generally between 20 to 30 feet long. Apart from their use for IUU fishing in U.S. waters, lanchas are also used to move illicit drugs and migrants into the United States. 

As the fishing of red snapper and shark species is under strict limits in the United States, and therefore those species are more abundant in U.S. waters, Mexican fishermen cross into U.S. waters to fish via these lanchas. They then bring their catch back to lancha camps into Mexico, where the product is ultimately sold and, oftentimes, exported into the United States. This activity earns millions a year for lancha camps. In addition, it also leads to the death of other marine species that are inadvertently caught.

Ismael Guerra Salinas (a.k.a. Mayelo) and his brother Omar Guerra Salinas (a.k.a. Samorano) are the Gulf Cartel members in charge of Playa Bagdad. Beyond overseeing IUU fishing, Mayelo and Samorano manage drug trafficking operations on Playa Bagdad. Mayelo has also facilitated human smuggling conducted via these lanchas, in which the individuals are kept hidden for transport across the Rio Grande River. In addition, Francisco Javier Sierra Angulo (a.k.a. El Borrado) currently leads the Gulf Cartel in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. El Borrado was previously in charge of the Valle Hermoso Plaza for the Gulf Cartel.

Raul Decuir Garcia (a.k.a. La Burra) and Ildelfonso Carrillo Sapien (a.k.a. El Chivo) are lancha camp owners who oversee and enable lancha fishermen crossing into U.S. waters for or on behalf of the Gulf Cartel.

Mayelo, Samorano, El Borrado, La Burra, and El Chivo are being sanctioned pursuant to E.O. 14059 for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Gulf Cartel, a person sanctioned pursuant to E.O. 14059.

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons. U.S. persons may face civil or criminal penalties for violations of E.O. 14059 and the Kingpin Act. Non-U.S. persons are also prohibited from causing or conspiring to cause U.S. persons to wittingly or unwittingly violate U.S. sanctions, as well as engaging in conduct that evades U.S. sanctions. OFAC’s Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines provide more information regarding OFAC’s enforcement of U.S. sanctions, including the factors that OFAC generally considers when determining an appropriate response to an apparent violation.

The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List, but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC’s Frequently Asked Question 897 here. For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here.

For more information on the individuals designated today, click here.

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U.S. Sanctions The 'Bonques Brothers' And Five Others; Accused Of Trafficking Fentanyl From Nayarit

 "Char" for Borderland Beat 

This article was translated and reposted from RIODOCE 

Author | Editorial Staff

Date | November 19, 2024

Time | 1:32 pm

The US Treasury Department announced sanctions against the Bonques brothers' network and five other individuals, who smuggle fentanyl and other drugs from Nayarit, as well as being associated with the Jalisco Cartel - New Generation (CJNG).

The other five Mexicans sanctioned by the Treasury Department and members of the gang associated with the CJNG are José Adrián Castillo López, Luis Alonso Navarro Quezada, Erandiny Jazmín Arias Ponce, Araceli Castillo Peinado and José Sinue Castro Álvarez.

According to OFAC, the “Bonques Brothers” gang is led by Roberto Castellanos Meza, alias Beto Bonques, and is made up of his brothers; Ivan Atzayacatl, Giovanni and Juan Carlos, associates and close associates of CJNG leader Ruben Oseguera Cervantes el Mencho.

 The Bonques brothers have strong ties of cooperation with Audías Flores Silva, El Jardinero, the CJNG's regional leader in the state of Nayarit for the trafficking of all types of drugs and money laundering.

“The Bonques Brothers are one of the most prominent families in the state of Jalisco, dedicated to heroin trafficking, who during the 1990's played a preponderant role in controlling part of the market in the state of California,” according to OFAC.

The network that was subject to sanctions by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) alleges that the nine-person group is a key part of the CJNG's drug trafficking operations.

All of those sanctioned are subject to asset forfeiture and the freezing of bank accounts held in states and territories subject to U.S. financial laws, in addition to facing federal drug trafficking charges.

SOURCE: RIODOCE 

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The Turmoil Surrounding the La Nueva Familia Michoacana Top Leadership

 "Enojon" and "Char" for Borderland Beat 

Image By: López-Dóriga Digital (Image of La Familia Michoacana Leadership) 

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Breaking News: Secretary Yellen Announces Sanctions Against Top Leaders of Mexico’s La Nueva Familia Michoacana Drug Cartel, New Fentanyl Advisory

 "CHAR" for Borderland Beat

This information was reposted from the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

PRESS RELEASE

June 20, 2024

OFAC sanctions target powerful cartel trafficking fentanyl into the United States  

FinCEN Advisory provides crucial information to help financial institutions track illicit fentanyl financial flows 

WASHINGTON — Today, alongside law enforcement leaders in Atlanta, Georgia, Secretary Yellen announced that the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned eight Mexico-based targets affiliated with La Nueva Familia Michoacana drug cartel for trafficking fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine into the United States. In addition to narcotics trafficking, La Nueva Familia Michoacana smuggles migrants from Mexico into the United States. La Nueva Familia Michoacana is one of the most powerful and violent cartels in Mexico and has become a priority focus of the Mexican government in recent years. 

Concurrently, Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued a Supplemental Advisory to highlight critical new information to help U.S. banks and other financial institutions guard against activity associated with the illicit fentanyl supply chain. The advisory includes new trends and red flags that can be indicators of activity associated with the procurement of precursor chemicals and manufacturing equipment used for the synthesis of illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. Reporting from financial institutions of suspected financial transactions involving illicit fentanyl and narcotics trafficking plays a key role in law enforcement investigations and Treasury’s sanctions efforts globally.

“The opioid crisis, and especially the rise of synthetic opioids like fentanyl, has devastated communities and claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans. President Biden and I are committed to using every tool we have to target illicit fentanyl and its precursor chemicals so we can disrupt these deadly supply chains,” said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen. “Treasury has unique capabilities and expertise to target the financial flows of these cartels who are poisoning our communities, and going after them is a top priority for me and the Department.”

Treasury plays a leading role in countering the trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs as part of President Biden’s Unity Agenda, leveraging its expertise to fight illicit financing and financial crimes to disrupt the flows of money that criminal organizations rely on to operate. Over the past two years, Treasury has sanctioned more than 250 targets for involvement in drug trafficking activities at all stages of the supply chain, from major cartel leaders to under-the-radar labs, transportation networks, and chemical suppliers. Last year, Secretary Yellen launched the Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force, which brings together Treasury’s expertise and resources in fighting financial crime, led by the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI) and IRS Criminal Investigation (CI). Secretary Yellen has also engaged with international partners to combat fentanyl trafficking, including during her travel to Mexico last year. In April, Secretary Yellen also announced the launch of an exchange with the People’s Republic of China to enhance cooperating in combatting money laundering associated with drug trafficking and other crime.

Additionally, FinCEN and IRS CI recently established a new public-private information-sharing partnership series called “Promoting Regional Outreach to Educate Communities on the Threat of Fentanyl” (or PROTECT). Launched as part of the Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force, the PROTECT series brings law enforcement agencies and financial institutions together to share typologies and approaches on combatting illicit fentanyl trafficking in U.S. cities that are highly impacted by the opioid epidemic.

LA NUEVA FAMILIA MICHOACANA’S INVOLVEMENT IN DRUG TRAFFICKING AND HUMAN SMUGGLING

Historically, La Nueva Familia Michoacana trafficked mostly methamphetamine. However, in recent years, it has expanded into fentanyl trafficking, obtaining the necessary precursor chemicals, purchasing critical pill press machines, and then producing fentanyl in throughout Mexico, including in Mexico City, Pineda, Santa Teresa, Ciudad Altamirano, Tejupilco, Arcelia, Cuernavaca, Culiacan, Guadalajara, and Toluca, Mexico. La Nueva Familia Michoacana sends fentanyl and other drugs to the United States through Nuevo Laredo and Tamaulipas/Reynosa across the southern Texas border via buses, among other modes of transportation. Once the drugs are in the United States, the drugs are then sent to multiple cities across the United States, including Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Tulsa, Chicago, and Charlotte. 

La Nueva Familia Michoacana is also involved in human smuggling. For instance, La Nueva Familia Michoacana members stage photos and videos in which individuals appear under interrogation or at risk of being murdered. With these photos or videos in hand, the individuals will then falsely claim to United States immigration officials their purported need to seek asylum in the United States. In return for this service, the individuals pay La Nueva Familia Michoacana money. Separately, La Nueva Familia Michoacana is also known for forcing individuals to enter the United States illegally with drugs for the purpose of selling narcotics in the United States. If the individuals do not comply with the order to sell the drugs provided by La Nueva Familia Michoacana, they are informed that they and their families will be killed. La Nueva Familia Michoacana also uses workers in the tobacco industry to smuggle narcotics into the United States. 

TOP LEADERS OF LA NUEVA FAMILIA MICHOACANA

Rodolfo Maldonado Bustos is a powerful and trusted member of La Nueva Familia Michoacana cartel and is next-in-line to Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, the two co-leaders of La Nueva Familia Michoacana, both of whom OFAC designated in November 2022. Rodolfo Maldonado Bustos controls the drug routes that pass from Ciudad Altamirano, Guerrero, Mexico to the Zihuatanejo-Lazaro Cardenas, Guerrero, Mexico area. On April 23, 2017, a federal grand jury in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment against Rodolfo Maldonado Bustos on two counts of heroin conspiracy charges.

Josue Ramirez Carrera is a financial leader and third-in-line in the leadership of La Nueva Familia Michoacana. Josue Ramirez Carrera is in control of laundering drug money for the La Nueva Familia Michoacana cartel through used clothing business. He is also involved in arms trafficking where he directs people along the Rio Grande Valley to conceal weapons within packs of used clothing destined for Mexico City.

Josue Lopez Hernandez is a key lieutenant for La Nueva Familia Michoacana and has significant regional connections with other cartels such as CJNG.

David Duran Alvarez is a key lieutenant for La Nueva Familia Michoacana and is known to send various drugs to Houston, Texas.

Uriel Tabares Martinez is a sicario, or assassin, that works directly for Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga. He is known to have a La Nueva Familia Michoacana leadership role in the Guerrero/Ciudad Altamirano region of Mexico. He is known as “El Medico” for the violent and surgical manner in which he tortures and murders those that cross the high-ranking members of the La Nueva Familia Michoacana cartel.

Kevin Arzate Gomez is a key lieutenant for La Nueva Familia Michoacana and has contacts and associates along the Mexico/United States border. Kevin Arzate Gomez negotiates on behalf of the cartel to have drugs enter the United States and assists in getting the money from those drugs sales back to Mexico.

Euclides Camacho Goicochea works closely with Rodolfo Maldonado Bustos and Uriel Tabares Martinez. He moves a significant amount of drugs, particularly methamphetamine, to Houston, Texas, and Atlanta, Georgia, among other areas. On August 23, 2017, a federal grand jury in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment against Euclides Camacho Goicochea on two counts of heroin conspiracy charges and one charge of money laundering.

Lucio Ochoa Lagunes is a key lieutenant for La Nueva Familia Michoacana and works directly for Jose Hurtado Olascoaga. He is also a leader of a sub-plaza in Tlapehuala, Guerrero, Mexico. 

Rodolfo Maldonado Bustos, Kevin Arzate Gomez, and Euclides Camacho Goicochea are being designated for having engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production. Josue Ramirez Carrera, Josue Lopez Hernandez, David Duran Alvarez, Uriel Tabares Martinez, and Lucio Ochoa Lagunes are being designated for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, La Nueva Familia Michoacana. 

These designations would not have been possible without the cooperation, support, and ongoing collaboration between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. This action was also coordinated closely with the Government of Mexico, including La Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), Mexico’s financial intelligence unit. In addition, today’s action furthers efforts by Treasury’s Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force, which leverages Treasury’s unique expertise and capabilities to interdict and disrupt the illicit financial networks upon which the cartels rely. These collective partnerships highlight the importance of broader U.S. government collaboration in targeting illicit fentanyl supply chains. 

FINCEN SUPPLEMENTAL ADVISORY

Today’s Supplemental Advisory builds off FinCEN’s 2019 Advisory with new typologies and red flags to assist financial institutions in identifying and reporting suspicious transactions potentially related to Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and their illicit procurement of fentanyl precursor chemicals and manufacturing equipment from People’s Republic of China (PRC)-based suppliers. This financial reporting is a critical tool for FinCEN and partner law enforcement agencies to use in following the money behind the illicit fentanyl supply chain, identifying and prosecuting the illicit actors perpetrating these crimes, and combatting the opioid epidemic.

Mexico-based TCOs have become the predominant suppliers of illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids into the United States since 2019. These TCOs purchase precursor chemicals and manufacturing equipment from PRC-based suppliers and through chemical brokers to synthesize illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids in clandestine labs in Mexico. These TCOs then traffic these highly addictive and deadly drugs across the U.S. southwest border and into American communities. 

The devastating impact of illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids on American communities is sobering and far-reaching as generations of Americans are destroyed in this epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending in December 2023, with over 74,000 of those deaths involving synthetic opioids, principally illicitly manufactured fentanyl. 

This Supplemental Advisory furthers FinCEN’s focus on combating the financing behind drug trafficking organization activity and transnational criminal organization activity—two of FinCEN’s Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism National Priorities—and is being issued pursuant to Section 3202 of the recently enacted FEND Off Fentanyl Act.

It also advances efforts of the North American Drug Dialogue Illicit Finance Working Group, which is comprised of the financial intelligence units (FIUs) of Canada, Mexico, and the United States; among other goals, the three FIUs have spent the last year, since the working group was formed, exploring possible indicators related to illicit fentanyl.  

SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS

As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons. U.S. persons may face civil or criminal penalties for violations of E.O. 14059. 

Today’s action is part of a whole-of-government effort to counter the global threat posed by the trafficking of illicit drugs into the United States that is causing the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans annually, as well as countless more non-fatal overdoses. OFAC, in coordination with its U.S. government partners and foreign counterparts, and in support of President Biden’s Unity Agenda, will continue to hold accountable those individuals and businesses involved in the manufacturing and sale of illicit drugs. 

The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, please refer to OFAC’s Frequently Asked Question 897 here. For detailed information on the process to submit a request for removal from an OFAC sanctions list, please click here.

Click here for the FinCEN Supplemental Advisory. 

For more information on the individuals designated today, click here.

View a chart on the individuals designated today.

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