The U.S. Department of the Treasury has unleashed a massive “pressure campaign” on violent cartels in the first 100 days of the Trump administration, with Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent sharing his progress on President Donald Trump’s vision for a “stronger, safer, and more prosperous America” exclusively to Breitbart News.
Reflecting on the past 100 days of the Trump administration’s work, the secretary revealed how he has been actively working to usher in a new golden age of prosperity.
“President Trump has outlined a vision for a stronger, safer, and more prosperous America, and I am honored to work for him in implementing this vision,” Bessent told Breitbart News on Tuesday.
“The three components of the Trump economic agenda — tariffs, tax cuts, and deregulation — are not standalone policies,” he explained. “They are interlocking parts of an engine designed to drive economic growth and domestic manufacturing: tax cuts and cost savings from deregulation raise real incomes for families and businesses; tariffs create an incentive for reindustrialization and fair trade; and deregulation complements tariffs by making it easier to invest in energy and manufacturing projects.”
Not only has the Treasury Department been working to “counter the affordability crisis,” making the agency more “transparent” and “efficient,” the secretary said he has also been putting in the work to “Make America Safe Again.”
Several examples shared by Bessent’s office with Breitbart News revealed the department’s “maximum pressure campaign on cartels,” coming down on financial crime loopholes to attack the money that keeps them in the business of harming Americans.
In a February 6 instance, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) assessed a staggering $37,000,000 civil money penalty against Brink’s Global Services USA, Inc. for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), the primary U.S. anti-money laundering safeguarding law.
On March 11, FinCEN issued a Geographic Targeting Order (GTO) to further combat criminal activity like money laundering committed by Mexican cartels and other bad actors along the southwest border of the United States.
Just days later, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a key leader of the Guatemala-based Lopez Human Smuggling Organization, which is responsible for smuggling “thousands of illegal aliens” into the U.S.
“Today’s action underscores the Trump Administration’s commitment to targeting the criminal actors like Hernandez Perez and the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization that perpetuate the illegal migration crisis and threaten the safety and security of Americans,” Bessent said in a statement at the time. “Treasury is committed to using all available tools to disrupt these criminal schemes and hold the perpetrators accountable.”
On March 31, not only did FinCEN issue an alert on bulk cash smuggling and repatriation by Mexico-based Transnational Criminal Organizations, but OFAC also designated six individuals and seven entities involved in a money laundering network supporting the dangerous Sinaloa Cartel.
Towards the end of Trump’s first 100 days, OFAC also sanctioned a key leader of the Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO) for playing a significant role in the trafficking of dangerous drugs into the U.S., and sanctioned four additional people affiliated with La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM), another Mexican cartel designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
“President Trump has made clear that American strength is back,” Bessent’s office told Breitbart News. “The Treasury Department has been proud to support this effort through dozens of sanctions and other actions that aim to keep Americans and our allies safe from foreign adversaries.”
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
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