Treasury sanctions nearly 50 Sinaloa Cartel leaders and corruption networks in Baja California
The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 21 individuals and 25 entities tied to the Sinaloa Cartel's Los Mayos faction, targeting cartel leader Ismael Zambada Sicairos
The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned nearly 50 targets serving as leaders or facilitators for the Sinaloa Cartel, the agency announced. The designations include cartel leader Ismael Zambada Sicairos, known as "Mayito Flaco," members of his inner circle, and Tijuana-based cell leaders, money launderers, and corrupt politicians the agency said allow the cartel to operate with impunity near the US-Mexico border.
"Today's action underscores that no cartel kingpin, corrupt Mexican government official, or financial facilitator is beyond the reach of Treasury's authorities," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. "Our message is clear: the Trump Administration will identify and disrupt any cartel actor who threatens our security or the integrity of our financial system."
The OFAC said it has taken more than 30 actions targeting over 400 individuals and entities since the beginning of 2025, working in coordination with the Homeland Security Task Force, the DEA, FBI, ICE Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, IRS Criminal Investigation, the State Department and the Department of War. Mayito Flaco, a dual Mexican-US national born in Anaheim, California, in 1982, rose to lead the Los Mayos faction following the July 2024 arrest of his father, cartel co-founder Ismael Zambada Garcia.
Zambada Garcia was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of California in 2014 on drug trafficking and money laundering charges and remains a fugitive in Mexico.
Treasury said Mayito directs the group's drug trafficking, murder, extortion, corruption, and kidnapping operations.
The sanctions also targeted Mayito Flaco's inner circle, including adviser Hildegardo Gastelum Garcia, brothers Jorge Luis and Francisco Javier Mendoza Uriarte, and Lorenzo Castillo Maldonado, who works for 'Uriarte. Treasury says Castillo Maldonado was released from a Mexican prison sentence after Sinaloa Cartel-linked bribes and has since hired hitmen to kill rival cartel members in southern California.
Treasury also sanctioned the cartel's plaza bosses controlling the Tijuana and Mexicali border corridors. One designee, Ilia Elizabeth Felix Rivera, was sanctioned for using her Tijuana money exchange business to launder narcotics proceeds between the US and Mexico.
The sanctions block all property and interests in property of the designated individuals and entities within US jurisdiction and generally prohibit US persons from engaging in transactions involving them.