US Treasury freezes Sinaloa Cartel assets. Arizona's Kris Mayes hopes it will help 'retake the border'

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The U.S. government has frozen the financial assets of 15 Sinaloa Cartel members and six Mexico-based businesses that trafficked drugs into Arizona and the United States, a top Treasury official announced Friday.

Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo announced the sanctions, which aim to stop money laundering tied to one of the world's most notorious drug trafficking organizations, in Phoenix at a news conference with U.S. Attorney for Arizona Gary Restaino, Attorney General Kris Mayes and Mayor Kate Gallego.

"The message here from all of us to these cartel leaders is that we are willing to use every tool at our disposal to go after your money, to cut you off from your resources and make it hard for you to sell your poison in the United States," Adeyemo said.

Affiliates of the cartel brokered fentanyl sales in the United States and bought cellphones with the proceeds. The phones were sold in Smart Depot stores in Mexico, where the pesos received funded the cartel, according to Treasury officials.

Four of the individuals sanctioned work for the business partner of El Chapo, or Joaquin Guzmán, the Sinaloa kingpin now serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison, according to Treasury officials.

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The sanctions direct U.S. banks and other financial companies, like wire transfer services, not do business with the individuals and companies. It's a similar sanction to those levied against Russia and other adversaries of the United States.

Adeyemo, the No. 2 in the U.S. Treasury, said the cartel network has been sanctioned at least 65 other times as part of the Biden administration's plan to elevate the department's ability to help combat fentanyl trafficking alongside other agencies. The money laundering was investigated by U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents and U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona last year, according to Restaino.

Adeyemo announced a continued agreement with Mayes' office to share intelligence and other resources to combat fentanyl trafficking.

The four leaders each called on Congress to support the Biden administration's efforts to combat the flow of fentanyl across the state's southern border, be it through funding, technology or manpower. With Biden on the ballot this year, he is facing pressure — and frequent criticism — from Republicans and some Democrats to do more at the nation's southern border.

Mayes praised the Treasury's intervention and called on the federal government to delegate some duties to local law enforcement agencies like sheriff's offices.

"I truly hope that this is the first in many steps that the federal government takes in helping us retake the border from the Mexican cartels," Mayes said. "We need help. Our sheriffs need help. We need more attention by the federal government on the Arizona border."

Mayes visited the border in Nogales earlier this week with Democratic U.S. Senate candidate and current U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego. She said if the federal government "cannot get its act together," local law enforcement agencies could step up.

She said as an example that local agencies could target cartel drones, which federal authorities have said are used for surveillance to more easily smuggle drugs or migrants across the border.

"If a drone has reached 30 miles into Arizona, then I think local law enforcement should have the authority to take it down, either through disabling it — we have technology that can disable it remotely — or through munitions," Mayes said.

She said she would not go so far as to support bills that allow local law enforcement to handle immigration matters, like a Texas law debated in courts this week and a recently failed measure in Arizona called the "Border Invasion Act."

Fentanyl is a potent and cheap synthetic opioid that is much stronger than heroin and morphine. According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, it is responsible for an upward trend in annual overdose deaths, most of which are accidental. In 2022, 1,927 Arizonans died from overdoses, according to the department.

Fentanyl seizures by U.S. Customs and Border Protection on the southwest border have recently increased year over year, even as the federal immigration agency has worked to respond to a crush of migrants seeking asylum in the United States that has spread resources thin.

Reach reporter Stacey Barchenger at stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: US Treasury, Kris Mayes announce Sinaloa Cartel assets freeze