Treasury Sanctions Sinaloa Cartel Faction Over Deadly Fentanyl Pipeline

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on Thursday against the Los Mayos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, along with the leader of its armed wing.

The move came as part of an effort to target cartel operations linked to fentanyl production and trafficking into the United States.

The sanctions coincided with a visit by Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley to the U.S.-Mexico border.

OFAC designated five individuals and 15 companies tied to one of Los Mayos’ regional networks operating south of the border.

A separate designation targeted the leader of another Sinaloa Cartel-affiliated gang involved in fentanyl production.

“The Sinaloa Cartel is a foreign terrorist organization that continues to traffic narcotics, launder its proceeds, and corrupt local officials,” Hurley said in a statement.

Treasury officials said Los Mayos is responsible for producing and smuggling fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine from northwest Mexico into the United States.

In addition to narcotics trafficking, the faction has been linked to kidnapping, extortion, money laundering, and corruption of local governments in Rosarito, Baja California.

Officials described Rosarito’s proximity to the U.S. border as strategically significant for the cartel’s smuggling operations.

The Sinaloa Cartel has been designated by the U.S. government as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and is responsible for much of the illicit fentanyl trafficked into the country.

According to OFAC, the cartel has also engaged in human smuggling operations across the southern border.

Los Mayos is considered a rival to the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Both groups are active in Baja California, Sonora, and Zacatecas.

OFAC reported that turf wars between the two factions have resulted in more than 1,000 deaths in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

The new sanctions effectively block cartel members and their affiliated businesses from accessing the U.S. financial system.

The designations also prohibit American citizens and companies from conducting transactions with the individuals or entities named by OFAC.

The rise of synthetic drugs such as fentanyl has significantly boosted cartel profits.

These organizations rely on steady supply chains for precursor chemicals imported largely from China and India.

By moving away from traditional plant-based narcotics like heroin and marijuana to synthetics, cartels have expanded their production capabilities and market reach.

Recent data illustrates the scale of the fentanyl crisis.

According to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the 12 months ending in October 2024, the United States recorded 52,385 overdose deaths from synthetic opioids, representing a 33 percent decline from the previous year.

Overall overdose deaths fell by about 26 percent during the same period.

In 2023, synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl, accounted for 74,702 of the 107,543 total overdose deaths in the United States—nearly 69 percent of all fatal overdoses.

Drug seizures by federal agencies also declined in 2024. The Drug Enforcement Administration reported seizing 21,936 pounds of fentanyl last year, down 29 percent from 2023.

The DEA also seized 61.1 million counterfeit pills in 2024, a 24 percent decrease compared to the previous year.

Data from the El Paso Intelligence Center’s National Seizure System showed similar trends, with 23,256 kilograms of fentanyl seized in 2024, down from the prior year.

Treasury officials said the latest sanctions are part of ongoing efforts to disrupt the financial networks that enable the cartel to operate, as U.S. agencies continue to focus on combating the flow of fentanyl into the country.