The US sanctions the Los Chapitos network and offers $10 million for two of its leaders

Washington.- The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned this Monday the Los Chapitos network for facilitating the production and illegal trafficking of fentanyl, and also two of its leaders, who are fugitives and for whom it offered up to 10 million dollars for information leading to their arrest or conviction.

According to their statement, the laboratories controlled by Los Chapitos are responsible for introducing fentanyl in counterfeit pills manufactured by the Sinaloa cartel and trafficked to the United States.

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The U.S. Treasury also believes that armed men linked to the Sinaloa cartel were involved in the murder of former U.S. Marine Nicholas Quets, which occurred on October 18, 2024, in Sonora, Mexico.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the department also sanctioned Archivaldo Iván Guzmán Salazar and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, sons of the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

Through its Narcotics Rewards Program, it offered a separate reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of each of them.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that Los Chapitos "are a powerful and hyper-violent faction of the Sinaloa cartel, leader in the trafficking of fentanyl to the United States", and that with these measures the mandate of the American president, Donald Trump, is being fulfilled "to completely eliminate drug cartels and combat violent leaders like the sons of 'El Chapo'".

The OFAC also sanctioned a regional network of associates and companies of Los Chapitos, based in Mazatlán, Sinaloa (Mexico), dedicated to drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, and money laundering. The action this Monday was coordinated with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The Treasury Department detailed that since the beginning of this second Trump term on January 20th, this is the ninth action taken against cartels, international drug trafficking, and human trafficking on the border with Mexico.

The Los Chapitos network is sanctioned for "being owned or controlled by, or acting or purporting to act for or on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel, directly or indirectly."

As a result of the sanctions issued, all property and interests in property of the sanctioned persons and entities that are in the United States are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.

"We will continue to protect our nation by keeping illicit drugs off our streets and disrupting the revenue streams that fund the violent and criminal activity of cartels based in Mexico," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement.