Acting through its Office of Foreign Assets Control, the Treasury Department announced penalties this week against more than a dozen people and organizations with alleged ties to the Sinaloa cartel's fentanyl trade, according to the Los Angeles Times.

One of the individuals named is Jesus Gonzalez Penuelas, also called Chuy Gonzalez, a wanted man accused of moving drugs across the border and handling cartel money. Since 2024, the State Department has posted a $5 million bounty for tips that result in his capture, according to the Times.

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Penalties were also imposed on Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles, accused of washing drug revenue generated from fentanyl and other narcotics for the cartel. Gorditas Chiwas, a Chihuahua, Mexico, eatery tied to sanctioned businessman Alfredo Orozco Romero, was also added to the list of designated entities. Under the designations, those named lose access to U.S. financial institutions, are barred from transacting with American citizens or businesses, and have any holdings in the United States frozen.

In a statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent vowed that the department "will continue to target terrorist cartels and their fentanyl trafficking networks to protect our communities and Keep America Safe," the Times reported.

Cooperation from Mexico's financial intelligence agency helped Treasury and the DEA zero in on the individuals and entities named in the action, the Times reported.

The Trump administration designated the Sinaloa cartel as a terrorist organization in 2025. The DEA has identified China and Mexico as the dominant suppliers of fentanyl and related substances entering the country, and Chinese manufacturers are the origin point for virtually all of the raw chemical ingredients used to produce the drug, according to the Times.

Treasury sanctions over a dozen figures in Sinaloa cartel fentanyl operation

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