The US Treasury Department recently announced sanctions against members of terrorist criminal gang organizations in Mexico.
The sanctions target members of cartels President Donald Trump designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).
Designating the cartels as FTOs was one of President Trump’s campaign promises, and it was something conservatives had long urged former President Joe Biden to do to no avail.
Cartels designated are Tren de Aragua, Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), Cártel de Sinaloa, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, Cártel del Noreste (CDN), La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Cártel de Golfo (Gulf Cartel), and Cárteles Unidos.
The sanctions enacted target high-ranking members of CDN for numerous crimes including drug, human, and arms trafficking.
According to the Treasury, CDN is one of Mexico’s most violent gangs and its criminal operations exert pernicious influence over the southwest border.
Besides their for-profit criminal schemes, CDN is also responsible for their anti-US terrorist activity.
In March 2022, CDN members attacked the US’s Nuevo Laredo consulate, forcing diplomats to flee and the consulate’s closure for one month.
“CDN and its leaders have carried out a violent campaign of intimidation, kidnapping, and terrorism, threatening communities on both sides of our southern border,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The sanctions target CDN leaders Miguel Angel de Anda Ledezma and Ricardo Gonzalez Sauceda, accused of significantly contributing to CDN’s criminal and terrorist activities.
“We will continue to cut off the cartels’ ability to obtain the drugs, money, and guns that enable their violent activities,” continued Secretary Bessent.
Sanctions against CDN symbolize a new era in the US’s efforts to combat Mexican gangs, which could feature military action against the latter given their novel FTO designation.
The use of military force against cartels operating in Mexico is unlikely, however, as Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum has opposed the idea and criticized it as a violation of Mexico’s sovereignty.
State Department Secretary Marco Rubio explained that the FTO designation would “protect our nation, the American people, and our hemisphere.”
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