US Treasury sanctions Sinaloa cartel members operating in Mexico

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The US Treasury Department said Wednesday it designated eight Mexican nationals as narcotics traffickers under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, also known as Kingpin Act.

The agency said the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Sergio Valenzuela Valenzuela, based in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.

He is a Sinaloa Cartel plaza boss overseeing a major drug trafficking corridor in Mexico and is responsible for smuggling tons of illicit drugs, including methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl, into the US, it said.

It claimed he provides financial, technological support and goods or services for narcotics trafficking activities of the Sinaloa Cartel, while he reports directly to the cartel's leader, Zambada Garcia, who was identified as a narcotics trafficker under the Kingpin Act in 2002.

"Treasury’s action against Sergio Valenzuela Valenzuela demonstrates OFAC’s commitment to targeting high-level Sinaloa Cartel operatives, particularly those who traffic or facilitate the delivery of synthetic opioids to the United States," OFAC Director Andrea Gacki said in a statement.

Seven others were sanctioned for providing material assistance to Valenzuela Valenzuela, and two Mexican entities were designated by OFAC.