By PAUL O’DONOGHUE, Senior Correspondent
THE U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions an illicit fentanyl network tied to Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, as the Trump administration intensifies its crackdown on drug trafficking.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the sanctions target eight Mexican nationals and 12 Mexico-based companies connected to the cartel’s Los Chapitos faction. The State Department lists the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
“Over 500,000 Americans have died of fentanyl poisoning,” said Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley.
“Stopping the deadly flow of drugs into our country is a top national security priority.
“The Treasury Department is committed to dismantling the financial networks that support these terrorist organizations.”
The sanctions block all U.S.-based property of those designated. They also require U.S. persons to report any related assets, including entities owned at least 50% by sanctioned individuals.
Fentanyl Sinaloa network sanctions
OFAC named Sumilab as the main company in the network. The department said the firm shipped fentanyl precursor chemicals to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Authorities also sanctioned several members of the Favela Lopez family. These included Jorge Luis, Francisco, and Victor Andres Favela Lopez, along with Martha Emilia Conde Uraga.
The department said the family “supplied and distributed precursor chemicals and lab equipment” to cartel-linked brokers and lab operators who produce fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Sumilab first faced sanctions in 2023. The company later removed signs from its building.
Officials described Conde Uraga as a “longtime” broker for the cartel. She used fraudulent invoices and other methods to conceal chemical shipments, the Treasury said in a statement.
OFAC also sanctioned seven Favela Lopez family companies, including Agrolaren, Viand, Favelab, Qui Lab, and Storelab.
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