The US Treasury has announced a series of sanctions and a new bank alert targeting the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Mexico’s most powerful criminal enterprise. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on two Mexican men and nine companies involved in transportation, financial services, and real estate, accused of being tied to a cartel-linked fuel theft ring.
Cartel’s Expanding Revenue Streams
The cartel’s fuel theft ring is intended to evade Mexican taxes while generating tens of millions of dollars annually for the cartel. The US Drug Enforcement Agency has acknowledged the New Generation Cartel’s presence in 21 of Mexico’s 32 states, surpassing the powerful Sinaloa Cartel.
Mexican authorities have seized millions of gallons of stolen diesel, gasoline, and petroleum distillates from states bordering Texas. Organized crime taps pipelines and diverts fuel to service stations forced to buy from cartels or sell it directly in the streets. US authorities have even accused the Jalisco New Generation cartel of operating its own service stations.
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
