WASHINGTON—Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)
announced multiple actions combatting fuel smuggling schemes linked to Cartel
de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), a violent drug cartel designated under both
counternarcotics and counterterrorism authorities.
OFAC has sanctioned two Mexican nationals and nine entities
tied to a CJNG-linked fuel theft scheme—involving cross-border smuggling,
falsified customs documents, and shell companies—to evade Mexican taxes while
generating tens of millions of dollars annually for the cartel. In addition, FinCEN issued a supplemental
Alert providing additional guidance on financial typologies and red flags
indicative of CJNG and other Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations
(TCOs) smuggling fuel from the United States into Mexico in schemes involving
Mexican tax evasion.
"Today's action highlights the extent to which Mexico's
cartels are expanding beyond traditional drug trafficking to generate revenue
for their criminal organizations, which continue to traffic deadly drugs that
kill Americans," said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.
"Treasury's actions targeting these illicit revenue streams advance the
Trump Administration's priority of dismantling these terrorist organizations
and making America safe again."
Today’s action reflects strong collaboration between OFAC
and FinCEN, and was coordinated with a South Texas Homeland Security Task Force
(HSTF)-led investigation involving the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA),
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Department of
Commerce – Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), and U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), among others. OFAC and
FinCEN work in close coordination with the HSTFs, which target the
proliferation of illicit drugs and the networks, enablers, and financial
mechanisms that support their production and distribution. Today’s sanctions were also developed jointly
with the Government of Mexico’s financial intelligence unit, the Unidad de
Inteligencia Financiera (UIF)…”