The U.S. imposed a new round of sanctions Wednesday aimed at a fentanyl network tied to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, targeting people Treasury said help traffic and launder drug proceeds as well as businesses the Treasury Department said are connected to the cartel’s operations.
According to the Treasury Department’s designations, the Office of Foreign Assets Control added more than a dozen people, a Mexican restaurant and a security firm it linked to Sinaloa’s fentanyl trafficking. Treasury said the measures were intended to disrupt the ability of those targets to use U.S. financial services and to do business involving the United States.
Treasury’s targets included Jesus Gonzalez Penuelas, a fugitive known as “Chuy Gonzalez,” whom Treasury alleged is involved in trafficking narcotics into the U.S. and laundering funds for the cartel. Treasury described Gonzalez Penuelas as subject to a U.S. State Department reward effort, saying the department had offered $5 million for information leading to his arrest since 2024.
The Treasury Department also sanctioned Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles, alleging that he helps launder proceeds from fentanyl and other drugs on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel. Treasury said the designations apply to multiple roles in the network rather than a single type of activity.
In addition to individual sanctions, Treasury imposed restrictions on a restaurant in Chihuahua called Gorditas Chiwas. Treasury said the restaurant was controlled by Alfredo Orozco Romero, a sanctioned businessman.
Treasury said the sanctions cut the designated targets off from the U.S. banking system, limit their ability to work with Americans and block U.S. assets. The Treasury Department said it was “unclear” how deeply embedded some of the sanctioned individuals and firms are in the U.S. financial system.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that the department would continue to target cartels involved in fentanyl trafficking to protect communities. The Treasury statement used the language that Treasury would “will continue to target terrorist cartels and their fentanyl trafficking networks to protect our communities and Keep America Safe.”
Fentanyl remains a central focus of U.S. drug enforcement, with the Associated Press reporting that the drug can be fatal in very small doses. The report also noted that overdose deaths increased dramatically over the last two decades, while recent data cited in the same account shows deaths declining year over year from 2022 to 2023, according to the latest CDC figures.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has said Mexico and China are the primary sources of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked directly into the U.S., and it has reported that nearly all precursor chemicals needed to make fentanyl come from China. The Associated Press account also said that companies that make precursors routinely use fake return addresses and mislabel products to avoid law-enforcement scrutiny.
The sanctions were issued as the U.S. government continues to pursue cartel-linked financial networks, including through coordination with Mexican authorities. The Associated Press reported that Mexico’s financial intelligence unit worked with Treasury and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to identify the targets for Wednesday’s sanctions.