The U.S. Treasury Department has revealed a widespread money laundering operation run by 'Los Chapitos,' the operational arm of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel led by two fugitive sons of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, who have now been declared Specially Designated Global Terrorists.
According to Treasury officials, Los Chapitos operate clandestine labs in Sinaloa, producing fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills and trafficking massive amounts into the U.S. via a network of precursor chemicals and violent enforcers. They cited the 2024 killing of ex-Marine Nicholas Quets in Sonora as further justification for sanctions.
The sanctions reach beyond the cartel's drug operations to include a network of financiers and businesses based in Mazatlán, accused of laundering large-scale drug proceeds. Leading this network is Víctor Manuel Barraza Pablos, known locally as 'El 40,' the plaza boss overseeing the cartel's operations: drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, murder, and fentanyl production in Mazatlán.
Financing Barraza is José Raúl Núñez Ríos, a businessman who, from around 2021, amassed wealth rapidly through real estate, construction, and hospitality ventures. U.S. authorities allege he was funneling illicit proceeds into legitimate investments to disguise cartel money, including beachfront properties and development projects across Sinaloa. Núñez's wife, Sheila Paola Urías Vázquez, a local makeup artist, served as a nominal owner for multiple entities, including spas, salons, rental services, and hospitality businesses, which facilitated money laundering efforts.
All three have been placed on the U.S. Treasury Department's specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list under Executive Orders targeting illicit drug networks and terrorism. Additionally, ten businesses tied to Núñez have been blacklisted, including Beach y Marina, Club Playa Real, Carpe Diem Spa, among others.
The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets connected to the brothers and prohibit all American individuals and entities from engaging in transactions with them or their affiliates. Additionally, the State Department has offered rewards of up to $10 million per head for information leading to their arrest or conviction.
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent stated, "Los Chapitos is a powerful, hyper‑violent faction of the Sinaloa Cartel at the forefront of fentanyl trafficking into the United States... executing on President Trump's mandate to completely eliminate drug cartels."
These steps are part of a broader Trump-era initiative, launched earlier this year, designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations and leveraging sanctions typically used against terrorists to combat cartels.
© 2025 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
