US to punish Mexican drug cartel Jalisco for fentanyl trafficking – Theforgegastown

FIRST ON FOX: The Treasury Department is expected to announce sanctions on Tuesday against individuals and entities linked to a violent drug cartel in Mexico that is responsible for a significant portion of the fentanyl and other deadly drugs smuggled into the United States, Fox News Digital has learned.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is announcing sanctions against nine Mexican nationals and 26 Mexico-based entities linked to a fuel theft ring that generated tens of millions of dollars for the Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel.

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Mexican drug cartels, such as the Jalisco Nueva Generacion cartel, have turned to fuel theft in recent years, costing the Mexican government billions of dollars in revenue.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to impose sanctions was made in collaboration with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Mexican government. U.S. authorities also worked with Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit.

Multiple bags of fentanyl were seized in Nogales, Arizona. Border agents and police seized more than 1,900 pounds of the illegal drug in October. (CBP)

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told Fox News Digital that the Biden administration is “committed to taking decisive action to disrupt the financing and operations of deadly fentanyl trafficking cartels like CJNG.”

Adeyemo said the cartel’s “various revenue streams, including fuel theft, ultimately increase its ability to smuggle fentanyl and other deadly drugs into the United States.”

“The Treasury Department will continue to use its expertise and resources to take a hard line against drug gangs, make our communities safer, and keep toxic drugs like fentanyl off our streets,” Adeyemo said.

Last year, the Treasury Department imposed sanctions on members of the Sinaloa cartel.

US imposes sanctions on Sinalosa cartel members, including ‘anthrax monkey’, as part of anti-fentanyl measures

Earlier this year, the DEA said cartels from Jalisco Nueva Generacion and Sinaloa have flooded major U.S. cities with methamphetamine and fentanyl, and they use violence to protect their territory.

Members of the Jalisco cartel have admitted to coordinating the shipment of 199.97 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine — with a street value of up to $9.9 million — from Mexico to Dallas, federal prosecutors said. (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas)

“Together, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels have caused the worst damage drug crisis “In the history of the United States,” the DEA report said.

Sinaloa and Jalisco have “effectively eliminated all competition in the U.S. market” and “dictate the flow of virtually all illicit drugs” into the country, the report said, noting that thousands of drug traffickers with ties to cartels are currently operating in the United States.

End of April, 12 Traffickers with ties to the Jalisco Cartel were sentenced to terms ranging from 4.5 to 40 years in federal prison after being arrested in 2021 in Del Rio, Texas, for coordinating a shipment of nearly 200 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine worth $9.9 million.

Police officers stand at a scene where a vehicle was set on fire by members of the Jalisco New Generation cartel after one of its leaders was arrested by Mexican federal forces, in Zapopan, in the Mexican state of Jalisco, August 9, 2022. (REUTERS/Fernando Carranza | insert: REUTERS/Andrew Kelly)

During this particular investigation, authorities seized approximately 650 kilograms of methamphetamine, 17 firearms, $220,922 in cash and $12,200 worth of real estate, according to federal prosecutors in North Texas.

Fentanyl, which can be deadly even in small doses, is responsible for the deaths of more than 70,000 Americans each year. It is often mixed with other drugs or made into counterfeit pills, so users often do not realize what they are taking.

The drug is primarily produced in Mexico by drug cartels using Chinese precursors and then transported across the US land border.

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The Biden administration has created a global coalition to combat the threat of fentanyl, working with countries like Mexico to crack down on smugglers and regulate the chemical.

Last year, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen launched the Anti-Fentanyl Strike Force. In April, she announced an exchange with the People’s Republic of China to “enhance cooperation in combating money laundering related to drug trafficking and other crimes.”