U.S. Sanctions Nearly 50 Linked to Sinaloa Cartel’s Los Mayos in Baja California

The U.S. Treasury Department said Tuesday that it imposed sanctions on nearly 50 people and companies tied to the Sinaloa Cartel in a move aimed at disrupting the Los Mayos faction’s grip on key trafficking corridors in Baja California and the business and corruption networks that Treasury says help sustain it.

In the Sept. 29 action, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, sanctioned 21 individuals and 25 entities. Among the most prominent names was Ismael Zambada Sicairos, known as “Mayito Flaco,” a Los Mayos leader Treasury said is tied to control of border plazas in Tijuana and Mexicali. OFAC also noted status updates or redesignations involving previously sanctioned figures including Alfonso Arzate Garcia, known as “Aquiles,” René Arzate Garcia, known as “La Rana,” and Jose Angel Rivera Zazueta.

The sanctions carry practical consequences beyond naming alleged cartel figures. Treasury said any property or interests in property of those designated that are in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons are blocked. U.S. persons are generally barred from dealing with them unless authorized, and foreign financial institutions can face sanctions exposure if they knowingly facilitate significant transactions for designated targets. In effect, the action is meant to squeeze access to the U.S. financial system and complicate cross-border business activity.

Treasury said the action targets not just alleged leaders but also facilitators, money-laundering businesses and corruption networks connected to the faction in Baja California. The entities named by OFAC include a mix of corporate vehicles such as currency-exchange firms, hospitality businesses, fuel-related companies and advertising or publicity operations, underscoring what Treasury described as a networked enforcement approach rather than one focused only on armed operatives or top commanders.

The focus on Los Mayos comes amid a prolonged internal struggle inside the Sinaloa Cartel. Treasury cited the July 2024 arrest of cartel co-founder Ismael Zambada García, known as “El Mayo,” as part of the backdrop to that factional conflict. Tijuana and Mexicali are especially important because they are major cross-border trafficking corridors into the United States, making control of those plazas strategically valuable. Treasury had previously targeted a Los Mayos network in September 2025, and Tuesday’s action expands that effort with a broader set of names and businesses in Baja California.

Treasury said the sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 14059, which targets the global illicit drug trade, and Executive Order 13224, as amended, a terrorism-related sanctions authority. The department said the move is part of a wider campaign that has included more than 30 actions targeting over 400 individuals and entities since the beginning of 2025. “Today’s action underscores that no cartel kingpin, corrupt Mexican government official, or financial facilitator is beyond the reach of Treasury’s authorities,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the Sept. 29 release. “Our message is clear: the Trump Administration will identify and disrupt any cartel actor who threatens our security or the integrity of our financial system.”

Treasury said the action was coordinated with the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, ICE-Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection, IRS Criminal Investigation, the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security and other interagency counter-cartel elements, highlighting a broader U.S. enforcement push beyond sanctions alone.