U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), UIF (Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit) and DEA joined efforts to target the violent Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) active in and around the port of Manzanillo, Mexico.
CJNG is notorious for smuggling a sizable amount of fentanyl and other illegal substances to the U.S.A. Four members of CJNG, Aldrin Miguel Jarquin Jarquin (a.k.a. “Chaparrito”), Jose Jesus Jarquin Jarquin (a.k.a. “R32”), Cesar Enrique Diaz De Leon Sauceda (a.k.a. “Lobito”), and Fernando Zagal Anton have been designated pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.
Marking the fifteenth action OFAC has taken against the cartel under the Kingpin Act, OFAC had designated the illegal organisation and its boss Ruben Oseguera Cervantes (a.k.a. “Mencho). U.S. Department of State’s Narcotics Rewards Program had also issued a reward of $10 Million for intelligence leading to the arrest and/or conviction of the CJNG leader.
The four designated criminals are reported to be major figures in service of the son-in-law of the already designated CJNG leader and to be coordinating with the armed “enforcement group”, to orchestrate killings of public figures and rival factions.
Brutal acts of violence, assassinations against rival cartels; public, law and law enforcement officials as well as corruption are the main methods CJNG and allies utilise in drug turf battles and to deter public servants from tackling their crimes. The group is the main rival of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel and secured wins in the aftermath of the extradition of the latter’s notorious leader “El Chapo” to the U.S.
CJNG is believed to be behind the assassination of Aristóteles Sandoval, the former governor of Jalisco, in a restaurant.
The four designees are higher up figures of CJNG known to be coordinating drug trafficking in and around the port of Manzanillo – a “strategic location” whose control gave criminal wins to the CJNG.
The Drug Gateway: Port of Manzanillo
CJNG’s history records the cartel battling for control of lucrative ports in the country. The busiest seaport in Mexico, the port of Manzanillo in Colima is flagged as a strategic gateway where Colombian cocaine and base material from Asia arrive at. Colima, the Mexican state where the port is located, has been a stage for the bloody rampages committed by the cartel, and ranks high among Mexican cities for its rate of murders per capita.
The four designees OFAC added to the criminals list are higher up figures of CJNG who are known to be coordinating drug trafficking in and around the port of Manzanillo which is described as a “strategic location” whose control has made possible criminal wins for the CJNG.
Money Laundering Networks
CJNG and akin drug dealing criminal entities use vast networks of legitimate businesses to integrate illicit profits into the system. OFAC had previously designated an array of companies including a tequila company, agricultural firms, and a luxury boutique hotel.
CJNG was also known for displaying its brutal killings on social media, like certain terror groups in the Middle East; and obtaining or producing heavy guns that include armoured vehicles. The cartel is notorious for influencing youngsters of impoverished areas advertising the narco life style.
Director of OFAC Andrea M. Gacki has expressed the U.S. Treasury’s objective to “expose, isolate and disrupt CJNG members” to breaking the cartel’s influence over operational bases such as the port of Manzanillo.
