A new blow to combat drug trafficking was announced this Monday from the United States. The State Department has reported visa restrictions on 75 people linked to the Sinaloa Cartel. According to the Government, the order affects drug traffickers, their family members, and people associated with their businesses and, in addition to prohibiting entry to that country, will serve as a “deterrent” to illicit activities. The measure is part of the Donald Trump administration’s strategy against criminal groups, which he designated as terrorist groups last year.
Through a social media post, Marco Rubio, Secretary of State, highlighted that the action contributes to making the United States and the region “safer and stronger.” “The State Department will continue to protect Americans from dangerous narco-terrorists and deadly drugs,” he wrote. In the statement, the U.S. Government warned that the Sinaloa Cartel is linked to fentanyl trafficking, which has been categorized by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction. “President Trump is using the full power of the United States to eradicate narco-terrorist cartels operating in our hemisphere,” the document states.
Monday’s announcement comes just a week after sanctions were revealed against two casinos and three individuals linked to the Northeast Cartel in Tamaulipas. The Treasury Department, through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), froze the assets and properties of Juan Pablo Penilla Rodríguez, Jesús Raymundo Ramos Vázquez, and Eduardo Javier Islas Valdez, alias Crosty.
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The Tamaulipas Centenario and Diamante casinos, operated by Comercializadora y Arrendadora de México S.A. de C.V., were also affected due to their alleged links to illicit activities such as fentanyl trafficking, human trafficking, money laundering, and extortion. OFAC’s accusations also included Raymundo Ramos, a controversial activist and director of a human rights organization. Ramos is known for having denounced cases of serious abuses and human rights violations committed by the Mexican Army.
In August of last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced a supposed major blow against the same group. On that occasion, an operation resulted in the arrest of 617 people and more than 19 tons of drugs seized in different countries, according to U.S. authorities. However, an investigation by The Boston Globe‘s Spotlight team later found that many of the DEA’s targets in New England who were arrested were, in reality, addicts and not high-ranking drug traffickers, as had been initially maintained.
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