The Trump administration is seeking to disrupt with a sweeping set of sanctions a sprawling Sinaloa Cartel network accused of corrupting Mexican officials just across the U.S. border.
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administration → seek → border
Los Mayos, a powerful faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, and its U.S.-born leader are accused of funneling fentanyl and drug money through California and hiring hitmen to kill rivals on American soil.
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Mayos → accuse → soil
The Treasury Department, according to material exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital ahead of their public release on Tuesday, will sanction 21 individuals and 25 entities in a crackdown against Los Mayos and their alleged illegal activity within U.S. borders.
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Department → accord → borders
The targets of the sanctions include Ismael Zambada Sicairos, known as "Mayito Flaco," a dual U.S.-Mexican citizen born in Anaheim, California, whom Treasury describes as the "undisputed head" of Los Mayos.
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Treasury → include → Mayos
The action lays out how one of Mexico’s most powerful cartel factions allegedly maintains its grip on two critical trafficking corridors along the U.S. border — through political and police corruption, money laundering and violence that Treasury says has extended into Southern California.
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Treasury → lay → California
It also exposes what Treasury describes as deep cartel penetration of government and law enforcement in Baja California, the Mexican state bordering California.
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Treasury → expose → California
Treasury says Sinaloa-linked "narco-corruption has reached the highest levels" of the state government, alleging that the ex-husband of Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila Olmeda used his political influence to protect cartel operations and that a former Mexicali public security chief accepted bribes to allow the cartel to exert control over municipal police.
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cartel → say → police
The allegations shed new light on a controversy that erupted last year when the U.S. revoked the visas of both Ávila and her then-husband, Carlos Torres Torres.
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U.S. → shed → Ávila
Treasury now says the State Department revoked Torres’ visa in May 2025 because of his "cartel affiliation and work on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel."
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Department → say → Cartel
U.S. officials had not publicly disclosed why Ávila’s visa was revoked.
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visa → disclose → ?
The State Department revoked Torres’ U.S. visa in May 2025 over what Treasury now describes as his "cartel affiliation and work on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel."
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Treasury → revoke → Cartel
Ávila’s U.S. visa was also revoked around the same time, though U.S. officials did not publicly disclose a reason for the action against her.
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officials → revoke → her
Treasury also alleges the cartel’s reach extended directly into California.
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reach → allege → California
Lorenzo Castillo Maldonado, an associate in Mayito Flaco’s network, allegedly hired hitmen on the cartel leader’s orders to kill rival cartel members in Southern California.
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Maldonado → hire → California
Another part of the network allegedly worked with complicit Southern California money exchanges to collect bulk cash from U.S. drug sales and move the proceeds back to Mexico.
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part → work → Mexico
The sanctions are aimed in part at disrupting Los Mayos’ grip on the Tijuana and Mexicali "plazas," strategic corridors Treasury says the cartel uses to move fentanyl and other narcotics into the U.S.
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cartel → aim → U.S.
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.
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Bessent → underscore → authorities
"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.
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who → identify → system
The designations effectively cut the targets off from the U.S. financial system, blocking property and assets under U.S. jurisdiction and generally barring Americans from doing business with them.
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designations → cut → them
Foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate significant transactions for sanctioned individuals could also face U.S. sanctions.
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that → facilitate → sanctions
At the center of Tuesday’s action is Mayito Flaco, who Treasury says has emerged as the undisputed leader of Los Mayos following the July 2024 arrest of his father, longtime Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garcia.
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Treasury → say → father
Mayo’s arrest set off a violent struggle between Los Mayos and Los Chapitos, the Sinaloa faction led by sons of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.
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arrest → set → Guzman
Treasury says the two factions remain locked in a costly internal war that has forced both sides to rebuild their leadership and alliances.
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that → say → leadership
Mayito Flaco, 44, was born in Anaheim in 1982 and later filed a U.S. name change to Fernando Sicairos Aispuro, according to Treasury.
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Flaco → bear → Treasury
He was federally indicted in California in 2014 on drug trafficking and money laundering charges and remains a fugitive in Mexico.
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He → indict → Mexico
Treasury says he now commands Los Mayos’ drug trafficking, murder, extortion, corruption and kidnapping operations.
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he → say → trafficking
The sanctions also target Torres’ brother, Luis Alfonso Torres Torres, whom Treasury accuses of collecting bribes and laundering illicit funds through companies and political campaigns.
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Treasury → target → companies
Former Mexicali public security director Pedro Ariel Mendivil Garcia is also being sanctioned.
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Garcia → sanction → ?
Treasury alleges Mendivil accepted bribes from Los Rusos leader Juan Jose Ponce Felix, known as "El Ruso," in exchange for allowing the cartel to exert control over municipal police, facilitate drug trafficking and carry out enforcement operations.
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cartel → allege → operations
The Aporia
