The US Treasury imposed sanctions on two Mexican nationals and nine entities tied to a cartel-linked fuel smuggling scheme that moves fuel from the United States into Mexico without paying a hefty tax on the imports.
Cartel-Linked Smuggling Scheme
The scheme is linked to Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and part of an illegal enterprise generating hundreds of millions of dollars annually for the cartel. Smuggled fuel and stolen crude oil have become the second-largest revenue source for Mexican cartels after drugs, according to the US government.
Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent stated, “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.”
Mexican cartels and their networks can evade the tax, including by misclassifying customs documentation and by bribing government officials, the Treasury said. Complicit US companies, meanwhile, leverage their relationships with major refineries and fuel distributors at home to purchase fuel and then divert it using networks of US and Mexican front and shell companies.
Those sanctioned include Oscar Juraidini and seven companies he owns or controls, as well as J. Refugio Ruiz and his two logistics companies, for providing material support to the cartel.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
