The Trump administration has recently sanctioned Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman’s children, also known as Los Chapitos, due to their involvement in the Sinaloa cartel’s fentanyl trafficking. The Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of Foreign Assets Control manages this group, which oversees the production of fentanyl in counterfeit pills that are distributed in the U.S.
On October 18, 2024, associates of the Sinaloa cartel were linked to the murder of U.S. Marine veteran Nicholas Quetz in Sonora, Mexico.
The Treasury Department’s Scott Bescent stated on Monday, “Los Chapitos is a powerful and hyper-violent faction of the Sinaloa cartel, leading the charge in fentanyl trafficking within the U.S.” He emphasized that the Treasury is acting on President Trump’s directive to dismantle drug cartels and confront violent figures like El Chapo’s children.
Treasury Secretary Bescent highlighted their commitment to using all available resources to combat the fentanyl crisis, aiming to save lives.
The actions taken by the Treasury include a crackdown on a network operating in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico, in coordination with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Nicholas Quetz, a 31-year-old veteran who had been employed on the Water Reclamation Project in Arizona, was attacked near the U.S. border by armed members of the cartel as he was traveling along the Caborca Altaru Highway.
His father, Doug, a former military and law enforcement officer, expressed his gratitude to President Trump and the Cabinet for their steps toward justice for his son. Doug described Nicholas as an innocent man whose promising future was abruptly cut short, asserting that the attack was not just a murder but a brazen act of intimidation directed at Americans.
Doug indicated that the designation of the Sinaloa cartel as a foreign terrorist organization is a crucial initial move to honor Nicholas’s memory and safeguard other Americans.
Bescent reinforced that targeting the financial backbone of the Sinaloa cartel is essential to dismantle this criminal organization and disrupt its operations, including money laundering and profit concealment.
