US Sanctions Members of CJNG Mexican Cartel for Fentanyl Trafficking

The U.S. Treasury Department building is seen at dusk in Washington, D.C., on June 6, 2019. (Patrick Semansky/AP Photo)

The U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday imposed sanctions on two Mexican members of Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) for their roles in trafficking fentanyl and other drugs to the United States.

CJNG, also known as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, is one of the largest fentanyl producers and traffickers to the United States, according to a Treasury Department statement.

Brian Nelson, undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said the Biden administration has imposed five rounds of sanctions on transnational criminal organizations over the past month, including traffickers and “revenue-generated schemes” fueling the flow of fentanyl and other drugs into the United States by CJNG and other cartels.

“Building on our strong partnerships across the U.S. government and with our counterparts in Mexico, we will continue to act against the financial flows of CJNG and other criminal organizations that harm Americans through the illicit drug trade,” he said.

The two men sanctioned are CJNG cell leaders Juan Carlos Banuelos Ramirez and Gerardo Rivera Ibarra, who were allegedly involved in sending fentanyl and methamphetamine to the United States.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also sanctioned two Mexican companies linked to the men, Fornely Lab and Inmobiliaria Universal Deja Vu.

Mr. Banuelos Ramirez’s roles in the cartel include supplying counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl and managing methamphetamine production in Mexico. He allegedly smuggled the drugs into the United States by hiding them in machinery.

OFAC alleged that Mr. Banuelos Ramirez bought automatic weapons for CJNG and sought “high-grade drones” for the cartel. He was previously indicted by a federal grand jury in California.

Timeshare Fraud Run By CJNG

This came just a week after OFAC sanctioned three Mexican accountants and four Mexican companies allegedly linked to a timeshare fraud ring run by CJNG.

Timeshare is a vacation property arrangement in which multiple individuals share ownership of the property.

OFAC said transnational criminal organizations operate call centers in Mexico with scammers impersonating U.S. timeshare brokers, attorneys or sales representatives.

Owners of timeshares are defrauded through “complex and often years-long” schemes, including timeshare exit, re-rent, and investment scams.

Often, the scammers then retarget the same victims by pretending to be U.S.-based law firms and U.S., Mexican, and international authorities.

The Treasury and FBI had also issued a notice urging banks to be vigilant in detecting and reporting timeshare fraud perpetrated by Mexico-based transnational criminal organizations.

Mr. Nelson warned that unsolicited calls and emails that seem legitimate are likely the work of cartel-supported criminals.

“Treasury and our partners are deploying all tools available to disrupt this nefarious activity, which funds things like deadly drug trafficking and human smuggling, and we encourage the public to use our resources to stay vigilant against these threats,” he stated.

OFAC also sanctioned 50 individuals and entities linked to CJNG’s timeshare fraud activities last year.

Katabella Roberts contributed to this report.