WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned more than a dozen people, a Mexican restaurant and a security firm, targeting networks involved in fentanyl trafficking and money laundering.
The sanctions, issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, focus on two major operations led by Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles and Jesus Gonzalez Penuelas, along with several of their associates.
Officials say Ojeda Aviles leads a sophisticated laundering network tied to the “Los Chapitos” faction of the Sinaloa cartel. Investigators say the group collects bulk drug cash in the United States, converts it into cryptocurrency and transfers it back to cartel leaders in Mexico. He is also accused of helping coordinate shipments of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine into the U.S.
Authorities identified several key members of that network, including money broker Jesus Alonso Aispuro Felix and associate Rodrigo Alarcon Palomares, who has been indicted in the U.S. on drug money laundering charges. Alfredo Orozco Romero, described as a security advisor and debt collector, is also sanctioned, along with his affiliated businesses and family members Amalia Margarita Romero Moreno and Liliana Orozco Romero, who officials say acted as front persons.
The sanctions also target a separate trafficking organization led by fugitive Jesus Gonzalez Penuelas, who authorities say has been responsible for distributing methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl into the United States for years. He has been indicted in multiple federal cases and is the subject of a $5 million DEA reward.
Officials say several of his associates were also sanctioned, including Castulo Bojorquez Chaparro, Fredi Ismael Garcia Sandoval, Luis Arnulfo Moreno Zamora, Baltazar Saenz Aguilar and Noe de Jesus Castro Rocha, all accused of roles ranging from drug distribution to laundering cartel proceeds.
Treasury officials say the Sinaloa cartel remains a primary source of illicit fentanyl entering the United States, fueling tens of thousands of overdose deaths each year.
