The Office of Foreign Assets Adjustment (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury sanctioned 23 individuals and entities that make up a sophisticated synthetic opioid acquisition network linked to the Sinaloa Cartela designated foreign terrorist organization.
According to a press release, chemical suppliers and distributors, including those designated this Thursday, have transformed the drug trafficking landscape by allowing Mexican cartels to synthesize illicit drugs from precursor chemicals imported primarily from Asia.
Among those sanctioned, Mexicans stand out Karina Guadalupe Carrillo Torres, intermediary and linked to the faction of Los Chapitoswho is married to Regulo Acosta Hernandezsupplier of fentanyl and cocaine in Sinaloa.
Likewise, he was sanctioned Jaime Augusto Barrientos Camazan alleged middleman based in Guatemala who sources from various companies in India through the company J and C Import.
By exploiting international supply chains and clandestine production facilities, These networks manufacture highly potent and dangerous synthetic opioids more efficiently than ever.
These illicit drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, hit the streets of American cities and kill tens of thousands of Americans each year. Today’s sanctions affect all stages of the synthetic opioid supply chain.
“President Trump has been clear: Terrorist cartels will not be allowed to wreak havoc on our borders nor in our communities,” declared Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The action adopted today is also implemented in compliance with Executive Order 14367, which designated fentanyl and its chemical precursors as Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).
This day, Treasury’s Office of International Sources Adjusted sanctioned 23 participants and entities that comprised a fancy synthetic opioid procurement community with ties to the terrorist Sinaloa Cartel. These illicit pills, in conjunction with fentanyl and methamphetamine, within the raze attain…
— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) April 23, 2026
The lethality of illicit fentanyl, its manufacturing and distribution by organized criminal networks, and its role as a source of income for violent cartels, make it an imminent threat to the national security of the United States.
The Treasury Department is committed to using every means at its disposal to disrupt the manufacturing and trafficking of fentanyl.
Mexican cartels depend on chemical companies around the world to supply the precursors and other essential chemicals needed to produce synthetic opioids.
These chemical suppliers are primarily located in Asia, where they market and sell fentanyl precursors, such as 4-piperidonethe N-Boc-4-piperidone and other related derivatives, to intermediaries per kilogram through the web.
According to estimates by the United States Department of Justice, one kilogram of the precursor N-Boc-4-piperidone carries around 1.83 kilograms of fentanyl, a volume with the potential to generate approximately 900,000 lethal doses.
The intermediaries, in collusion with the Mexican cartels, They facilitate the logistics and shipping of these chemical substances to Mexico or Guatemala by air or sea.
Shipments containing kilograms of lethal fentanyl precursors are often mislabeled as “safe chemicals.” The middlemen then transfer the chemicals to individuals known as “cocineros,” who control clandestine synthetic drug laboratories controlled by the cartels.
Keep reading:
– The Treasury sanctions casinos linked to organized crime, and key partners for links with the Northeast Cartel.
– Hit against drug trafficking in NY: they dismantle three large fentanyl factories in the Bronx and The big apple.
