Overview

• U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced new sanctions against 15 individuals and two Mexican companies linked to the Beltran Leyva drug cartel during her visit to Mexico.
• The sanctions aim to disrupt the cartel, a major supplier of cocaine and fentanyl to the U.S., and are issued under a 2021 executive order that broadens the scope of drug-related activities.
• Sixty Mexican and foreign nationals have been charged with international drug trafficking, including 12 of the individuals that were sanctioned and are linked to the Beltran Leyva cartel.
• The Treasury has been imposing sanctions for years, disrupting individual cartels, but the actions have failed to slow the overall flow of illicit drugs to the United States.
• Yellen's visit to Mexico aims to improve cooperation with the government and businesses to find and cut off the flow of financing to drug cartels and their front companies.