U.S. Targets Sinaloa Cartel with Unprecedented Sanctions

The United States has imposed sanctions on a dominant faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, intensifying its crackdown on Mexican criminal organizations and allegedly corrupt politicians. The El Mayo faction, renowned for its role in producing and trafficking fentanyl, cocaine, and other drugs, is the primary target of this move, according to the U.S. Treasury Department's announcement on Thursday.

The sanctions extend to five individuals and 15 companies linked to El Mayo, marking an unprecedented step by U.S. authorities. Among those targeted is federal lawmaker Hilda Araceli Brown Figueredo, accused of facilitating the cartel's control over parts of Rosarito's municipal government. Brown, from the ruling Morena party, has publicly denied any wrongdoing.

This move comes as part of broader U.S. efforts to curb the influence of Mexican cartels, described as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government. These actions also aim to pressure Mexico into investigating and prosecuting corrupt politicians intertwined with these criminal entities, escalating the fight against organized crime south of the U.S. border.