Trump administration sanctions two Mexican drug cartels, announces bounties

The United States Treasury Department has revealed it is sanctioning two Mexican drug cartels, Carteles Unidos and Los Viagras, and seven affiliated individuals on allegations of “terrorism”.

The Treasury Department announced the sanctions on Thursday. Separately, the Justice Department stated it was charging five high-ranking members of Carteles Unidos with crimes related to drug trafficking.

“These actions further President Donald Trump’s directive to completely eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations threatening the American people,” the Treasury said in a social media post.

In a statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained that the sanctions would help the US government hamstring the cartel’s ability to generate revenue, including through cross-border commerce.

“Today’s sanctions action draws further attention to the diverse, insidious ways the cartels engage in violent activities and exploit otherwise legitimate commerce,” Bessent said.

Both Carteles Unidos and Los Viagras are said to be active in the Mexican state of Michoacan, where the Treasury said that they use funds from drug trafficking to hire mercenaries, bribe officials and buy weapons.

Thursday’s sanctions will freeze any US-based assets the targeted individuals may have, and people in the US are prohibited from making transactions with them.

The Trump administration has pledged to take a hard line against criminal groups and those involved in drug trafficking, including by labelling some Latin American criminal networks as “foreign terrorist organisations”.

Experts, however, have questioned the efficacy of such steps and raised fears that they could backfire, penalising nonprofits and civilians who live and work in gang-controlled territory.

Also on Thursday, the Department of Justice announced that it was offering rewards for information leading to the arrests of Carteles Unidos leader Juan Jose Farias Alvarez, also known as “El Abuelo” or “The Grandfather”, as well as Alfonso Fernandez Magallon, Luis Enrique Barragan Chavez, Edgar Orozco Cabadas and Nicolas Sierra Santana.

They are charged with participation in a conspiracy to manufacture and distribute drugs for importation to the US.

Altogether, the rewards totalled $26m, with the highest single bounty offered for Farias Alvarez, at $10m.

Earlier this week, the Mexican government sent 26 suspected cartel members to the US to face charges, the second such transfer this year.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum emphasised that the transfer was a “sovereign decision” she undertook, but critics have expressed concern that the US has been exerting increasing pressure on her government to bend to its will.

Last week, for example, US media reported that Trump signed an order authorising the US military to carry out operations against cartels and other criminal groups, a move that Mexican politicians have warned could result in US troops on Mexican soil.

That, critics warn, would constitute a serious violation of the country’s sovereignty. Sheinbaum, however, attempted to dispel concerns in a news conference: “There will be no invasion of Mexico,” she said.

Mexico, meanwhile, has also called on the US to take greater steps to restrict the massive flow of weapons from sellers and manufacturers north of the border. Mexican authorities and other experts have argued that those weapons fuel the violence committed by criminal groups.