On Wednesday, the U.S Department of the Treasury identified and formally classified fifty-four drug trafficking members of the Cartel del Golfo and Los Zetas cartels as “Specifically Designated Narcotics Traffickers” under the Kingpin Act, in an attempt to combat border violence. The Treasury Department said the move “intensifies the gestures, without precedence, of Mexico and the United States to fight Mexican drug trafficking organizations and to protect citizens on both sides of the border.”
This new designation prevents the cartel members from doing business with U.S companies or individuals, according to the Treasury. They also said that eleven of those designated have drug charges in a Washington court. According to El Economista, the two groups have been signaled as “major drug trafficking organizations” by Washington and are “responsible for much of the current bloodshed in Mexico.” A similar act was taken in December of last year for individuals connected to the Beltrán Leyva cartel.
Among those identified are drug traffickers, murderers, persons engaged in money laundering and criminal gangs, most of whom handle drugs in the Mexican states of Tamaulipas and Nuevo León.
The U.S is offering five million dollars for information leading to the capture Omar Trevino Morales, Juan Reyes Mejia Gonzalez, Mario Ramirez Trevino, Gilberto Barragan Balderas, Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar and Samuel Flores Borrego, whom have been identified as leaders of the cartel group Los Zetas.
Sources:
El Economista. “EU identifica a narcos ligados al Cártel del Golfo.” El Economista. 24 Marzo, 2010.
El Universal. “EU congela activos de 54 líderes de cárteles.” El Universal. 24 Marzo, 2010.
