US Punishes Mexicans With Links to Major Drug Cartel
(RepublicanNews.org) – The US has been struggling to prevent illicit substances from coming across the southern border. One of the biggest contributors to the influx of drugs is the Sinaloa Cartel, run by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. In an effort to slow down the cartel’s smuggling into the US, officials have declared sanctions against people with links to the Sinaloa Cartel.
US Sanctions
In a press release announcing the sanctions, Brian Nelson, the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, noted the Valenzuela Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO) has been a driving force in the epidemic America faces. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people have died each year from drug overdoses. Nelson declared that depriving the Sinaloa Cartel of resources will help prevent it from smuggling illicit drugs, such as marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl, into the US.
To damper the cartel’s efforts, the US Treasury sanctioned members of the Valenzuela DTO, including Juan Francisco Valenzuela Valenzuela, the organization’s leader. The sanctions will freeze any assets and interests, including property, any of the three have in the US. Additionally, Americans and US companies will no longer be able to work with them.
The United States announced sanctions against three Mexican transportation companies with ties to the international spread of illicit drugs as well. The Treasury also implemented sanctions on Raul Rivas Chaires and Hector Alfonso Araujo Peralta, both members of the Valenzuela DTO. Juan Francisco, Hector, and Rual are all fugitives from drug trafficking indictments the US government brought forward.
The Valenzuela DTO
The Valenzuela DTO began as a transportation cell. However, it quickly progressed into an intricate network the Sinaloa Cartel felt was irreplaceable. The operation was originally run by three siblings — Juan, Jorge, and Wuendi — all of whom carry the family name. Juan Francisco Valenzuela Valenzuela alone now runs the DTO. Police arrested his siblings in 2020 and 2021, following accusations their organization was importing and transporting illicit drugs in multi-ton quantities.
Mexican and American officials, including Antony Blinken the US Secretary of State, recently held a meeting to discuss bilateral security between the two nations. Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the President of Mexico declared the partnership would be taking on fentanyl with “full force.” The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that nearly 92,000 Americans died from drug overdoses, in 2020 alone. Mexico and the US are doing what they can to stop the influx of illicit drugs into America. But will it be enough?
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