Three Mexican drug lords have been sanctioned by US officials for smuggling deadly fentanyl into America
- Alfonso Arzate, his brother, Rene Arzate and Rafael Felix were sanctioned on Wednesday
- The suspects are accused of running lawns in Tijuana and Manzanillo, the Treasury Department said
- The ruling blocks any assets they may have in the United States and prohibits US citizens from doing business with them
Three senior members of the Sinaloa cartel were sanctioned by the US Treasury Department on Wednesday for trafficking drugs, including fentanyl, to America.
The suspects, Alfonso Arzate, his brother Rene Arzate and Rafael Felix all run sites for the transnational criminal organization co-founded by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
The sanctions will freeze all of the three men’s assets in the United States. In addition, US citizens are prohibited from doing business with them.
The Arzate siblings, who remain at large, are reportedly running the cartel’s operations in Tijuana and other neighboring cities, importing narcotics, including the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, into the United States.
Sinaloa cartel members Alfonso Arzate (left) and his brother Rene Arzate (right) were sanctioned by the US Treasury Department on Wednesday for allegedly trafficking drugs, including fentanyl, to the United States
According to the US Treasury Department, the Arzate brothers are responsible for the Sinaloa cartel’s place in Tijuana and other cities
According to the Treasury Department, Alfonso Arzate and Rene Arzate were also involved in kidnappings and murders for the notorious cartel.
Both men were separately charged with drug trafficking in July 2014 by the US District Court for the Southern District of California.
Felix, also known as “The Anthrax Monkey,” a nickname he earned as a hitman for Los Anthrax, an enforcer unit of the Sinaloa Cartel, took on a senior role following the arrest of gang leader Rodrigo “Chino” in 2013 within the organization Anthrax’ Arechiga.
He was also charged with drug trafficking in the US District Court for the Southern District of California in July 2014 and arrested by Mexican authorities in November 2014.
However, Felix and other members of the Sinaloa Cartel escaped from a prison in Culiacan, Sinaloa, in 2017 and remain at large.
Rafael Felix was a member of Los Anthrax, a hit squad for the Sinaloa Cartel, before rising through the organization’s leadership structure and becoming one of the cartel’s leaders in the Pacific coastal state of Colima
The Sinaloa cartel’s Colima Plaza is currently run by Rafael Felix, who faced US Treasury Department sanctions on Wednesday
Since then, Felix has risen to the top ranks of the Sinaloa cartel and has become a leader at the organization’s Manzanillo, Colima, precinct, the Treasury Department said.
The city’s port is a strategic location for the cartel’s activities, as it receives cocaine from Colombia and the precursor chemicals needed to synthesize fentanyl from Asia.
Manzanillo also acts as a transit hub for narcotics that are shipped to the United States.
The sanctions against the Arzate clan and Felix come less than a month after the Treasury Department sanctioned 10 Mexican nationals, including El Chapo’s brother-in-law, for producing and trafficking fentanyl.
The Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than 46 million counterfeit pills containing fentanyl in 2023
The suspects, including Noel López, brother of El Chapo’s second wife Griselda López, are said to be linked to Los Chapitos, the jailed drug lord’s four sons who control half of the cartel.
Figures from the Drug Enforcement Administration show that in 2023 the agency seized more than 46 million counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and more than 6,900 pounds of fentanyl powder.
In comparison, the DEA seized more than 58.3 million fentanyl-laced pills and more than 13,000 pounds of fentanyl powder.