The U.S. Treasury Department is putting new sanctions on three allegedly high-ranking members of a Mexican drug cartel, as well as on a rapper accused of laundering money.
Rapper Ricardo Hernandez Medrano, or El Makabelico, is accused of giving 50% of his royalties from streaming platforms to the Cartel del Noreste.
The drug cartel primarily operates in northeastern Mexico. It is one of the Mexican drug cartels the Trump administration earlier this year designated as a foreign terrorist organization.
Many of El Makabelico’s songs have millions of streams on Spotify. As of Thursday morning, the rapper’s official YouTube page was unavailable.
The cartel leaders facing new U.S. sanctions include the group’s alleged second in command, who the Treasury Department says is responsible for ordering executions on behalf of the cartel.
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