The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced Thursday that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on 20 entities, primarily based in Mexico, in a sweeping move to disrupt transnational criminal networks.
The action targets companies and individuals believed to facilitate cross-border human smuggling, drug trafficking, money laundering, and other major illicit operations.
According to the Treasury, the sanctions are grounded in an executive order aimed at blocking the property of significant transnational criminal organizations.
The designated entities will have their U.S. assets frozen and face prohibitions on doing business with U.S. persons or institutions. In coordination with Mexican authorities and U.S. law enforcement agencies, the Treasury said the move reflects a "whole-of-government" approach to choke off criminal funding streams.
The Treasury emphasized that many are tied to sophisticated trafficking corridors through Mexico and beyond, involving multimodal transport and illicit financial flows.
The statement highlighted how these networks enable smuggling of migrants, trafficking of narcotics, and laundering of proceeds through complex corporate structures.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pledged earlier in the year that the administration will continue to leverage its financial tools to target any organization that "supports criminal enterprises undermining both U.S. and Mexican security."
The sanctions are expected to raise compliance burdens for cross-border business in the region and signal increased scrutiny of entities operating in sectors vulnerable to cartel infiltration.
The designated entities have now been added to OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, meaning U.S. banks and stakeholders will be required to block their transactions and report suspicious activity.
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