The United States has taken another step in its ongoing campaign to disrupt the operations of Mexico’s most notorious criminal organizations, announcing sweeping sanctions against the Los Mayos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. The US Treasury Department revealed that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated the cartel’s armed leader, Juan Jose Ponce Felix-known by his alias “El Ruso”-alongside five other individuals and 15 companies allegedly tied to the group’s criminal empire in Baja California.

The move represents the latest in a series of US efforts to crack down on the powerful transnational drug cartels that have devastated communities on both sides of the border with their trafficking networks, violence, and deep-rooted corruption. The sanctions block access to any property or financial interests held in the United States and prohibit Americans from conducting business with the designated individuals and entities.

According to the Treasury Department, Los Mayos maintains control over several key drug trafficking corridors along the Pacific coast of Baja California, which serve as a crucial gateway for smuggling narcotics into the United States. The group is accused of producing and distributing fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine at an industrial scale-substances that continue to fuel America’s opioid crisis and record overdose deaths.

The cartel reportedly launders its profits through a sophisticated network of legitimate-looking businesses, including bars, restaurants, and resorts scattered across tourist destinations in Mexico. Officials say these enterprises serve as both fronts for illegal proceeds and tools for embedding cartel influence into the region’s economic and political life.

“Los........

© Blitz