The United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on individuals and entities tied to a Mexican cartel that traffics illegal drugs and launders proceeds through cryptocurrency networks.
According to a Treasury press release, these individuals and entities lead networks that launder proceeds from fentanyl and other narcotics trafficking activities for the Sinaloa Cartel. The schemes move profits back to Mexico by leveraging blockchain and crypto addresses.
Treasury Targets Illicit Drug Traffickers
A multi-year investigation by U.S. authorities uncovered that Jesús González Peñuelas directs a trafficking network within the United States, while Armando de Jesús Ojeda Avilés oversees profit-laundering operations on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel. The cartel, responsible for numerous violent incidents in Mexico and drug-related deaths in the United States, has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by U.S. authorities.
The cartel is run in part by the sons of the incarcerated trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, and the newly sanctioned individuals have been identified as key facilitators. While coordinating trafficking from Mexico, Avilés relies on associates such as González Peñuelas and Rodrigo Alarcón Palomares to collect cash and facilitate transfers using cryptocurrency addresses. The cartel’s narcotics include fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
In April 2024, a U.S. District Court in Colorado indicted Palomares for laundering drug proceeds; he was convicted on three counts related to laundering narcotics proceeds through cryptocurrency. During his October 2023 arrest, Mexican authorities recovered weapons and ammunition. Despite Palomares’ arrest, the Sinaloa Cartel’s trafficking network remains active and resilient.
Protecting American Communities
Avilés’ network includes Mexico-based drug suppliers, money brokers, and coordinators who facilitate large wire transfers across the United States. He is linked to Los Chapitos, a particularly violent faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, and became the group’s primary launderer following the murder of his predecessor, Mario Alberto Jiménez Castro.
In addition to Avilés and González Peñuelas, the Treasury announced sanctions on Jesús Alonso Aispuro Félix, businessman Alfredo Orozco Romero, Amalia Margarita Romero Moreno, Liliana Orozco Romero, and other associates. Many of these individuals have operated as money brokers, security advisers, and front persons to conceal the cartel’s financial flows.
The sanctions are part of U.S. efforts to protect communities and citizens from the harms caused by illicit drug trafficking and associated violent activity. Treasury leadership emphasized the administration’s commitment to disrupting narcotics networks and preventing illegal drugs from entering the country.