The United States has dealt a new blow to the financial structure of the United States Mexican criminal organization Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The Treasury Department announced on Tuesday that it has placed nine members of the Bonques Brothers, key allies of CJNG in the Mexican state of Nayarit, on the so-called ‘blacklist’ of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). As a result of these measures, which are part of those taken by Washington offensive to stop fentanyl trafficking from Mexico, the bank assets of the designated parties have been frozen. Being ‘blacklisted’ means losing access to bank accounts in the international financial system and freezing properties and companies in their names, which is crucial for the transfer of money from illegal companies to front companies.
“The United States, working closely with our Mexican government partners, will continue to use all available instruments to disrupt these criminal schemes and protect our communities,” the U.S. Treasury Department statement read.
Washington has identified Roberto Castellanos Meza, alias Beto Bonques, as the leader of the network. Among those also sanctioned by OFAC are three of his brothers: Iván Atzayácatl, Giovanni and Juan Carlos Castañeda Meza, also known as Axa Bonques, Vanni Bonques and Calocho. US authorities say the Bonques Brothers are one of “the most prominent families” in the heroin and other synthetic drug trafficking in western Mexico, with a criminal career dating back to the 1990s, and that they are close associates of Rubén Oseguera Cervantes El Mencholeader and founder of the Jalisco cartel. They are also linked to Audias Flores Silva El Jardinerocommander of the criminal organization in Nayarit.
According to the White House, the Beto Bonques family has its main base in Xalisco (Nayarit). Their main activity is the trafficking of heroin, although they have also dabbled in the illicit trade of other substances, such as cocaine. The leader of the clan has ties with Colombiafrom where he traffics drugs using small planes and boats. Castellanos Meza opened a case against him in California on Monday for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. The blow to its economic structure tightens the noose on Washington’s latest offensive against the CJNG.
In late 2007, Mexican authorities clashed with the Bonques Brothers after police identified a clandestine drug laboratory in Xalisco. Iván Atzayácatl Castañeda was arrested while trying to escape and Juan Carlos Castañeda was hospitalized after the shootout. Ten kilos of heroin were seized, the equivalent of 200,000 individual doses, media reported at the time.
José Adrián Castllo, the CJNG’s boss in Nayarit’s capital Tepic, is also among those sanctioned. He is accused of being part of Beto Bonques’ client portfolio and running a network that exports drugs to California, Colorado and Nevada. Luis Alonso Navarro, Castillo’s right-hand man, was put on the list for money laundering, human smuggling and trafficking fentanyl and other medications. He is facing criminal charges in Colorado on 108 counts of drug trafficking and other crimes, including the importation of three kilos of fentanyl last year. According to the United States, Navarro had dual roles: facilitating drug shipments and “laundering” profits through bank transfers he collected using false identities and addresses. His wife, Erandiny Jazmin Arias, was also listed for helping launder the money.
Navarro had ties to another couple in Sonora who sent him shipments of fentanyl, Araceli Castillo and José Sinué Castro. The couple was instrumental in organizing the delivery of pills to distributors in Navarro’s network, which were then shipped to the United States.
“As members of the Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) cartel, some of the individuals sanctioned today played a prominent role in the early stages of the U.S. opioid crisis, a leading factor behind the modern fentanyl crisis in the United States,” the Treasury Department said. statement. Rubén Oseguera González El Menchitoson of El Mencho, was found guilty last September by a Washington DC court of conspiracy to traffic cocaine and methamphetamine, and illegal use of weapons in connection with his criminal activities. The DEA is offering a $10 million reward for his father, the elusive leader of the CJNG, one of the most powerful criminal forces in the world.
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