U.S. sanctions 10 individuals linked to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on several Mexican nationals and one company that are allegedly connected to the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug trafficking network. 

The ten individuals added to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned list include the brother of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s second wife, Noel Lopez Perez, and a cousin to El Chapo’s youngest son, Ricardo Paez Lopez. Guzman, one of Mexico’s most notorious drug lords, is serving a life sentence in the U.S. 

Those sanctioned are being accused of being involved in the production and trafficking of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and has led to a significant increase in overdose deaths in the U.S.

“On my visit to the southwest border, I’ve seen how Treasury’s authorities can best be used to expose and isolate those who profit from deadly fentanyl sales in the United States,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. 

“Today’s sanctions demonstrate our ability and our resolve to exploit the financial vulnerabilities of networks involved in the illicit fentanyl trade,” he added.      

The Treasury Department also sanctioned an import-export company, ReI Compania Internacional, for allegedly receiving shipments of chemicals from China, which were then used for the production of fentanyl. 

“This action was coordinated closely with the Government of Mexico and targets entities and individuals from one of the most pervasive drug trafficking organizations in the world,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

The sanctions imposed by the Treasury Department block any access to assets those sanctions might have in the U.S. and prohibits American citizens from engaging in deals with them. 

U.S. authorities also announced rewards for any information that leads to the arrest of three of the men who were sanctioned this week, including Lopez Perez. 

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the Biden administration was acting “responsibly” by sanctioning the individuals. However, he added that much more needed to be done to end the drug and cartel problem plaguing both countries. 

"It is necessary to attend to the causes of the problem," he said during a morning news conference. "It's complex."