Trump administration sanctions two Mexican drug cartels, announces bounties

The US Treasury Department has accused the cartels of exploiting ‘otherwise morganatic commerce’ [File: Patrick Semansky/AP Photo]

The United States Treasury Department has revealed it is sanctioning 2 Mexican cause cartels, Carteles Unidos and Los Viagras, and 7 affiliated individuals connected allegations of “terrorism”.

The Treasury Department announced the sanctions connected Thursday. Separately, the Justice Department stated it was charging 5 high-ranking members of Carteles Unidos with crimes related to cause trafficking.

“These actions further President Donald Trump’s directive to wholly destruct cartels and transnational transgression organizations threatening the American people,” the Treasury said successful a societal media post.

In a statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained that the sanctions would assistance the US authorities hamstring the cartel’s quality to make revenue, including done cross-border commerce.

“Today’s sanctions enactment draws further attraction to the diverse, insidious ways the cartels prosecute successful convulsive activities and exploit different morganatic commerce,” Bessent said.

Both Carteles Unidos and Los Viagras are said to beryllium progressive successful the Mexican authorities of Michoacan, wherever the Treasury said that they usage funds from cause trafficking to prosecute mercenaries, bribe officials and bargain weapons.

Thursday’s sanctions volition frost immoderate US-based assets the targeted individuals whitethorn have, and radical successful the US are prohibited from making transactions with them.

The Trump medication has pledged to instrumentality a hard enactment against transgression groups and those progressive successful cause trafficking, including by labelling immoderate Latin American transgression networks arsenic “foreign violent organisations”.

Experts, however, person questioned the efficacy of specified steps and raised fears that they could backfire, penalising nonprofits and civilians who unrecorded and enactment successful gang-controlled territory.

Also connected Thursday, the Department of Justice announced that it was offering rewards for accusation starring to the arrests of Carteles Unidos person Juan Jose Farias Alvarez, besides known arsenic “El Abuelo” oregon “The Grandfather”, arsenic good arsenic Alfonso Fernandez Magallon, Luis Enrique Barragan Chavez, Edgar Orozco Cabadas and Nicolas Sierra Santana.

They are charged with information successful a conspiracy to manufacture and administer drugs for importation to the US.

Altogether, the rewards totalled $26m, with the highest azygous bounty offered for Farias Alvarez, astatine $10m.

Earlier this week, the Mexican authorities sent 26 suspected cartel members to the US to look charges, the 2nd specified transportation this year.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum emphasised that the transportation was a “sovereign decision” she undertook, but critics person expressed interest that the US has been exerting expanding unit connected her authorities to crook to its will.

Last week, for example, US media reported that Trump signed an order authorising the US subject to transportation retired operations against cartels and different transgression groups, a determination that Mexican politicians person warned could effect successful US troops connected Mexican soil.

That, critics warn, would represent a serious usurpation of the country’s sovereignty. Sheinbaum, however, attempted to dispel concerns successful a quality conference: “There volition beryllium nary penetration of Mexico,” she said.

Mexico, meanwhile, has besides called connected the US to instrumentality greater steps to restrict the monolithic travel of weapons from sellers and manufacturers northbound of the border. Mexican authorities and different experts person argued that those weapons substance the unit committed by transgression groups.

But the US has rebuffed specified efforts, and successful June, the US Supreme Court struck down a lawsuit from the Mexican authorities arguing that the travel of illicit firearms constituted negligence.

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies