The U.S. Treasury Department is putting in place new sanctions aimed at weakening a prolific Mexican cartel.
The department says the three individuals and two businesses receiving sanctions are involved with a crude oil smuggling scheme that funds the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel.
“By taking strong actions against this lucrative revenue stream, we are denying the cartel the opportunity to wreak further havoc in the United States and Mexico,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a video on social media.
The sanctions block U.S. companies from working with the hazardous materials shippers.
The Treasury Department says that crude oil smugglers steal fuel from the Mexican state oil company and sell it on the black market in Mexico, the U.S. and Central America, and that Mexico has seen an uptick in crude oil smuggling in recent years.
