MEXICO CITY — The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned 10 Mexican citizens, including a brother-in-law of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, Wednesday for alleged involvement in the production and trafficking of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.
Those sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control were allegedly connected to the sons of Guzmán, the so-called Chapitos, who U.S. prosecutors blame for much of the fentanyl trafficked into the United States.
“This action was coordinated closely with the Government of Mexico and targets entities and individuals from one of the most pervasive drug trafficking organizations in the world,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Among the targets was Noel López Pérez, a brother of El Chapo’s second wife Griselda López Pérez. Guzmán is serving a life sentence in the United States for drug trafficking as a leader of the notorious Sinaloa cartel.
The sanctions also target the Mexico State-based REI Compania Internacional, which the Treasury Department said receives chemical precursor shipments from China.
The sanctions block any assets the targets may have in the United States and prohibit U.S. citizens from having any dealings with them. Two others named for sanctions are cousins of the Chapitos.
In April, U.S. authorities announced rewards leading to the arrests of three of those sanctioned Wednesday, including López Pérez, but also including Oscar Noe Media González and Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
