Sinaloa cartel slapped with Trump admin sanctions in blow to drug empire

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Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel 'woven' into US communities: former DEA agent says

Brian Townsend, a retired supervisory special agent with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), shared how the Sinaloa Cartel operates in the U.S.

The Trump administration announced a barrage of sanctions against the behemoth Sinaloa cartel, as the White House grapples with controlling the deadly threat posed by Mexican drug cartels.

The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday designated six individuals and seven entities involved in a money-laundering network supporting the Sinaloa cartel, a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).

The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration said last year that the U.S. is facing the "most dangerous and deadly drug crisis" in its history with fentanyl and methamphetamine flowing across the border — and that the "Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are at the heart of this crisis." 

The sweeping move by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent came as the Trump administration continues to crack down on Mexican drug cartels.

"Laundered drug money is the lifeblood of the Sinaloa cartel’s narco-terrorist enterprise, only made possible through trusted financial facilitators like those we have designated today," Bessent said. 

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Scott Bessent, founder and chief executive officer of Key Square Group LP, speaks during an interview at the Republican National Convention near the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Tuesday, July 16, 2024. (Vincent Alban/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Money launderers for the Sinola Cartel

The Treasury Department spotlighted the specific individuals and organizations hit by the sanctions. The agency noted that assets held in institutions in the U.S. are now required to be frozen and reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Enrique Dann Esparragoza Rosas operates a money laundering organization, overseeing several cells based in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, the department said.

Esparragoza’s organization transfers illicit narcotics proceeds from the U.S. to Mexico using a currency arbitrage scheme in which dollars are traded for Mexican pesos at currency exchange businesses along the U.S.-Mexico border between Imperial County, California, and Mexicali, Baja California.

Esparragoza’s clients include the four sons of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, known as "Los Chapitos," and the Sinaloa cartel faction led by Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia. 

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As of April 2023, Esparragoza’s organization had allegedly laundered at least $16.5 million for Sinaloa cartel clients. The Treasury Department said that he controls Tapgas Mexico S.A. de C.V., a company based in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico. 

Alan Viramontes Sesteaga is a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa cartel who reports to Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, one of Los Chapitos, the department said.

The Treasury Department said that Viramontes establishes straw businesses and business representatives and coordinates large bulk cash pickups on behalf of the FTO. 

Read about the Sinaloa money laundering network. Mobile users click here

Salvador Diaz Rodriguez and Israel Daniel Paez Vargas are allegedly Mexicali-based money launderers who operate on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel. 

Diaz also works as an enforcer in Mexicali, collecting "taxes" on behalf of a local criminal organization, including through the use of violence, according to the department, which said that he is known to kill those who do not pay the required amount. 

Paez is also accused of being a recruiter for Alberto David Benguiat Jimenez’s money laundering organization and being involved in laundering money on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel. 

On March 31, 2025, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California unsealed an indictment charging Paez with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and conspiracy to import and distribute methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl. 

Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the head of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, is escorted to a helicopter in Mexico City following his capture in the beach resort town of Mazatlan. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)

Also on March 31, 2025, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California unsealed an indictment charging Diaz with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. 

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Alberto David Benguiat Jimenez is based in Mexico City and allegedly operates a money laundering network moving illicit narcotics proceeds from the U.S. into Mexico on behalf of the Sinaloa cartel and OFAC-designated fentanyl trafficker Jose Angel Rivera Zazueta, whose drug trafficking organization imports precursor chemicals from China into Mexico to manufacture synthetic drugs, including fentanyl, MDMA (ecstasy), crystal methamphetamine and ketamine. 

Benguiat’s network has laundered over $50 million to date, the department said. The U.S. charged Benguiat with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and transmit monetary instruments for the purpose of laundering. 

Christian Noe Amador Valenzuela is a close associate of Benguiat who launders money as a part of the network. He was also charged with conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.

Mexican military and police patrol in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, Jan. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Martin Urista, File)

The rollout of the sanctions against Sinaloa cartel members comes just weeks after President Donald Trump designated the Sinaloa cartel and seven other criminal groups across Latin America as FTOs.

FBI Director Kash Patel also announced in March that the federal law enforcement agency had extradited a leader of the violent criminal gang MS-13 from Mexico.

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The administration has also invoked the Alien Enemies Act to expedite the removal of suspected Tren de Aragua members.