U.S. sanctions allies of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel 

The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday announced sanctions for several individuals linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel. 

The Treasury Department accused Juan Francisco Valenzuela and his family-run drug trafficking operation of transporting “multi-ton quantities of illicit drugs” into the U.S. and working under the umbrella of the Sinaloa Cartel. 

“Originally established as a transportation cell, the Valenzuela DTO evolved into a sophisticated network that became invaluable to Sinaloa Cartel leadership. Named after the family who facilitated its rise to prominence, the Valenzuela DTO was run by siblings Jorge Alberto, Wuendi Yuridia, and Juan Francisco Valenzuela Valenzuela in recent years,” the department said in a statement. 

The Treasury added that the operation run by the Valenzuelas involved transporting millions of tons of illicit drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl, from Mexico to the United States. 

“The Valenzuela drug trafficking organization fuels the ongoing drug epidemic we face in the United States which has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans annually,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “Starving this network of resources will help deprive the Sinaloa Cartel of critical support it needs to traffic its dangerous illicit drugs.”

The Treasury also sanctioned group members Hector Alfonso Araujo Peralta and Raul Rivas Chaires as well as three Mexico-based transportation companies, Arfel Transportadora Cool Logistic, S.A. de C.V., Servicios de Transporte Maruha, S.A. de C.V., and Transportes Refrigerados Pandas Trucking, S.A. de C.V.

It said the all individuals named were currently fugitives from U.S. federal drug trafficking indictments.