The US government has taken steps to freeze assets linked to a primary cartel responsible for the ongoing fentanyl crisis and violence in Mexico.
This week, the US Treasury Department targeted factions of the Chapitos within the Sinaloa Cartel. This action enables officials to freeze assets and prohibit US citizens from engaging in business with listed individuals and entities tied to the organization. Treasury officials claim that the Institute controlled by Los Chapitos is pivotal in distributing fentanyl through counterfeit drugs manufactured by the Sinaloa cartels for trafficking to the US.
The current leaders of Chapitos are Archives Van Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, and the government has announced a $10 million reward for information leading to their capture.
This latest move marks a significant intensification of efforts against the Sinaloa cartel, which began in 2009 when it was named under the Kingpin Act. Recently, the State Department also designated the Sinaloa cartel a foreign terrorist organization, with a specific focus on Mazatlan-based Roschapitos and their fellow leaders.
Documents from the Treasury reveal that one of Chapitos’ associates is community leader Victor Manuel Baraza, along with his financial adviser, Jaws Nunez Rios. Authorities are also targeting Baraza’s wife, Sheila Paola Urias Vazquez.
In recent developments, the US government has linked the Sinaloa cartel to the murder of US Marine Corps veteran Nicholas Quetz in 2024. The incident occurred during an attempted carjacking by a gunman, who fatally shot Quetz.
“The Quetz family expresses our deep and lasting gratitude to President Trump and his entire Cabinet for using every measure of national power to pursue justice for our beloved Nicholas,” stated Nicholas’ father, Doug, in a prepared release.
