Visa Bans on Sinaloa Cartel Associates
Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently announced visa restrictions affecting 75 family members and associates of the Sinaloa cartel. This move continues the efforts of the previous Trump administration to target not just drug traffickers, but also those who benefit from their illegal activities.
In February 2025, the Sinaloa Cartel was among eight drug cartels classified as foreign terrorist organizations. This designation empowers the United States to implement stricter criminal penalties and enhance military responses against these organizations and their affiliates.
Rubio stated, “The Sinaloa Cartel is smuggling illegal fentanyl. The President has classified it as a weapon of mass destruction. They’re not just harming individuals; they are inflicting damage on American society as a whole.” He added that imposing visa bans will not only discourage these traffickers from entering the U.S. but also help prevent ongoing criminal activities.
Support for the Visa Restrictions
Representative Maria Salazar (R-Florida) voiced her support for Rubio’s decision, emphasizing that cartels have profited excessively at the expense of innocent lives. “For too long, narco-terrorists have enriched themselves on the pain and death of innocent Americans,” Salazar commented. She asserted that the era of impunity is over, stating that those who benefit from cartel-related terrorism will face consequences, with a focus on protecting American safety.
The Sinaloa Cartel, considered one of the largest drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, operates across more than 40 countries. Last summer, a Drug Enforcement Administration operation led to the arrest of 600 cartel members. The agents seized significant quantities of drugs during this operation, illustrating the scale of their activities.
Executive Orders and Sanctions
The U.S. State Department has indicated that these recent actions to deny entry to cartel associates are in line with a 2021 executive order by former President Joe Biden focused on sanctioning foreign nationals involved in global drug trafficking. Over 325 individuals, including members of the Sinaloa cartel, have been sanctioned since then, according to the Treasury Department.
In September of last year, the Trump administration also targeted a faction of the Sinaloa cartel, known as Los Mayos, along with 15 affiliated companies. The Ministry of Finance has imposed sanctions on more than 600 individuals and companies connected to the Sinaloa Cartel, all under the framework of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act and the 2021 executive order.
