The U.S. government moved to freeze the assets and financially target one of the leading cartels responsible for the ongoing fentanyl crisis in America and the raging cartel violence throughout Mexico.
This week, the U.S. Department of the Treasury moved to target the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. The move allows U.S. officials to freeze assets and prohibits U.S. citizens from doing business with entities and individuals identified as members of the organization. In their designation, treasury officials claim that Los Chapitos-controlled laboratories are responsible for introducing fentanyl in counterfeit pills manufactured by the Sinaloa Cartel and trafficked to the United States.
The Chapitos are currently led by Archivaldo Ivan Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, two of the sons of jailed Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. The U.S. government is currently offering a $10 million reward for their capture.
The action by the Treasury Department represents an escalation of efforts against the Sinaloa Cartel, which began in 2009 when the organization was listed under the Kingpin Act. As Breitbart Texas reported, in February, the U.S. Department of State designated the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The most recent action focused on the leaders of Los Chapitos and their associates based in Mazatlán.
One of the Chapitos’ associates is Victor Manuel Barraza, a regional leader in Mazatlán, and his money man, Joze Raul Nunez Rios, according to U.S. Treasury documents. Authorities are also targeting Barraza’s wife, Sheila Paola Urias Vasquez, a local make-up artist who is listed as the owner of various spas and other businesses belonging to her husband.
In their most recent action, the U.S. Government specifically linked the Sinaloa Cartel to the murder of U.S. Marine Veteran Nicholas Quets in 2024. The gunmen tried to carjack the U.S. citizen, and according to government officials, they specifically targeted him after identifying him as a U.S. citizen. During the failed carjacking, the gunmen fatally shot Quets.
“The Quets family expresses our deep and enduring gratitude to President Trump and his entire Cabinet for unwaveringly using every instrument of national power in the pursuit of justice for our beloved Nicholas,” said Nicholas’ father Doug in a prepared statement provided to Breitbart Texas.
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.
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