The US Treasury Department identified and sanctioned three members of the Jalisco Cartel – New Generation (CJNG), two men accused of trafficking high-caliber weapons and fuel theft, and a woman linked to a money laundering network.
One of those sanctioned is Alonso Guerrero Covarrubias, alias “El Ocho,” and identified as the godson of drug trafficker Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” the CJNG’s top leader, according to Expansión Política.
In a statement, the Treasury Department said Alonso and his brother Javier Guerrero Covarrubias are two high-ranking members of the four-letter cartel who are considered violent.
“The CJNG relies on the activities of a criminal network that strengthens its ability to traffic fentanyl and other lethal drugs into the United States; today, we dismantled a key chain of support involved in arms trafficking,” said Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson.
He added that the identification and sanctions against the two CJNG members resulted from the Treasury Department’s close coordination and collaboration with the Mexican government.
In addition to them, Mary Cruz Rodríguez Aguirre, a resident of the state of Jalisco and allegedly responsible for a money laundering network that has transferred funds between the U.S. and Mexico, was sanctioned.
According to US authorities, the defendant has worked as an intermediary for Audias Flores Silva, a regional commander of the CJNG who was sanctioned by the US Treasury in 2021 and for whom there is a reward for information on his whereabouts.
In addition, Rodríguez Aguirre’s money exchange company, Nacer Agencia Panamericana de Divisas y Centro Cambiario, which the woman used for her money laundering business and to send the funds obtained from the sale of narcotics from the US to Mexico, was also blacklisted.
According to the U.S. Government, between 2020 and 2022, Rodriguez Aguirre facilitated the collection and laundering approximately $6 million.
As a result of the sanctions, the properties and assets held by these individuals or companies in the U.S. are blocked, and U.S. persons are prohibited from conducting transactions with them.