Us Imposes Sanctions On A Mexican Cartel Linked To A Drug Trafficking And Fuel-theft Network

The Trump administration on Thursday imposed economic sanctions on three Mexican nationals and two Mexico-based entities involved in a drug trafficking and fuel theft network linked to Mexico's Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

It is one of Mexico's most powerful cartels and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration says it has some 19,000 members in its ranks . The cartel developed rapidly into an extremely violent force after it split from the Sinaloa cartel after the 2010 killing of Sinaloa cartel capo Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel Villarreal by the military.

The new sanctions against Jalisco New Generation, including top members Cesar Morfin Morfin and his brothers Alvaro Noe Morfin Morfin and Remigio Morfin Morfin, target the group's fuel theft network. The Treasury Department says that network has resulted in tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue to the Mexican government and also funds the flow of illicit fentanyl into the United States.

The sanctions freeze any assets the individuals or companies have in the U.S. and prohibit U.S. citizens from doing business with them.

The U.S. administration has made it a priority to combat that flow, which has been blamed for tens of thousands of overdose deaths every year.