Overview
- OFAC named the Bhardwaj Human Smuggling Organization, leader Vikrant Bhardwaj, spouse Indu Rani, and associates José Germán Valadez Flores and ex–Quintana Roo police officer Jorge Alejandro Mendoza Villegas.
- Sixteen companies in Mexico, India and the United Arab Emirates were designated as alleged fronts in sectors including tourism, yachting, real estate, retail and energy, with all U.S. dealings now prohibited.
- Treasury says the network moved thousands of migrants from Europe, the Middle East, South America and Asia using yachts, marinas and air travel, housing them in Cancún before sending them north along the Tapachula–Cancún–Mexicali corridor.
- U.S. authorities cite operational support from individuals employed by the Sinaloa Cartel and cooperation with the previously designated Hernández Salas network.
- The action was coordinated with Homeland Security Investigations, the DEA and Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit under Executive Order 13581, blocking assets and transactions to disrupt the group’s operations.