The U.S. Department of the Treasury has unleashed a new wave of sanctions, targeting two dozen individuals and companies accused of building a secret supply chain for the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it is blacklisting 23 people and entities linked to a network that funnels deadly chemicals from Asia.
According to the Treasury, these networks use international supply chains and clandestine facilities to manufacture synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, substances that are later distributed in U.S. cities.
“President Trump has made it clear that terrorist cartels will not be allowed to wreak havoc on our border and in our communities,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
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Supply Network
The crackdown targets criminal organizations in Mexico that rely heavily on suppliers in Asia for compounds like 4-Piperidone and N-Boc-4-Piperidone.
According to the Department of Justice, just one kilogram of N-Boc-4-Piperidone can be turned into roughly 1.83 kilograms of fentanyl, enough to produce nearly 900,000 lethal doses.
To evade detection, these shipments to cartel-operated labs in Mexico and Guatemala are often falsely labeled as “safe chemicals.”
Once the chemicals land in these countries, they are handed off to “cooks” who run clandestine labs, eventually funneling the finished drugs into American cities.
The Department of the Treasury identified the Sinaloa Cartel as one of the organizations involved in the production and trafficking of fentanyl and other illicit drugs meant for the United States.
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India
In India, OFAC designated Satishkumar Hareshbhai Sutaria and Yuktakumari Ashishkumar Modi, a pair of pharmaceutical brokers arrested in March 2025. Authorities say they used their companies in India (SR Chemicals and Agrat Chemicals) to sell fentanyl precursors to Mexican cartels while labeling them as “safe chemicals”.
Pursuant to E.O. 14059, these entities were designated for having engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have significantly contributed to, or pose a significant risk of contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production.
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Brokers and Importers/Exporters Based in Latin America
Moving west, the sanctions target Jaime Augusto Barrientos Camaz in Guatemala. Using his firm J and C Import, Barrientos allegedly received 116 kilograms of N-Boc-4-Piperidone from SR Chemicals and Agrat Chemicals in just two months, acting as the final stop before the chemicals reached the United States.
Central Logistica de Servicios (Central) is another import-export company based in Guatemala involved in the purchase of fentanyl precursors, as well as finished fentanyl.
OFAC designated Barrientos, J and C Import, and Central pursuant to E.O. 14059 for having engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have significantly contributed to, or pose a significant risk of contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production.
Karina Guadalupe Carrillo Torres Carrillo, a chemical broker with family ties to the notorious “Los Chapitos” faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, has been linked to multiple seizures of precursor chemicals including 1-Boc-4-Hydroxypiperidine totaling more than 50 kilograms.
Her husband, Regulo Acosta Hernandez , is a fentanyl and cocaine supplier who allegedly laundered money through U.S.-based operatives.
The couple, owners of Desarrollos Cartok and Comercializadora Grupo Carhern, were both arrested in Mexico in March 2026.
OFAC designated Carrillo and Acosta pursuant to E.O. 14059 for having engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have significantly contributed to, or pose a significant risk of contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production.
OFAC designated Cartok and Carhern pursuant to E.O. 14059 for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or for having acted for, or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Carrillo.
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The Treasury also designated María Viridiana Rugerio Arriaga (Rugerio), a chemical precursor broker based in Mexico. Rugerio acquires precursors from India and sells them to drug producers for the synthesis of fentanyl and methamphetamine. She has specifically brokered chemicals such as N-Boc-4-Piperidone. Rugerio also owns Química Soluciones y Logistica Internal Bajio, S.A. de C.V. (Química), a company based in León, Guanajuato.
OFAC designated both Rugerio and Química pursuant to E.O. 14059 for having engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have significantly contributed to, or pose a significant risk of contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production.
Another key figure, Jose de Jesús Ramírez Torres (Ramírez), is an importer based in Jalisco, Mexico. He uses a network of companies including Corporativo y Enlace Ram S.A. de C.V. (Enlace Ram), Enlace Forwarding Mexico, S. de R.L. de C.V., and Cargo Global 3PS, S. de R.L. de C.V. to bring methamphetamine precursors into Mexico. His holdings also extend to Florida-based E-Ram Group LLC (E-Ram), which OFAC identified as blocked property due to Ramírez’s interest in the firm. Ramírez, along with Enlace Ram, Enlace Forwarding, and Cargo Global, was sanctioned under E.O. 14059.
OFAC also designated two Mexican chemical importers: Reyma Global Trading S.A. de C.V. (Reyma), based in Mexico City, which has supplied large quantities of methamphetamine-related chemicals to organizations including the Sinaloa Cartel; and Aduaeasy S. de R.L. de C.V., an importer that has received chemical shipments from Asia. Both companies were sanctioned under E.O. 14059.
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Cartel-Affiliated Drug Traffickers
In addition, OFAC targeted two individuals tied to the Sinaloa Cartel. Ramiro Baltazar Felix Heras (Felix) is a high-ranking member of “Los Mayos,” a cartel faction, and is involved in trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine into the United States.
Alejandro Reynoso Jimenez (Reynoso), a chemist and operator of clandestine labs in Guadalajara, Jalisco, obtained chemical precursors for fentanyl production for the “Los Chapitos” faction of the cartel. Through his pharmacy, Botánica 2000 in Guadalajara, Reynoso produced fentanyl-laced pills sold in the U.S. He was arrested in Madrid, Spain, in November 2025.
Both Felix and Reynoso, as well as Botánica 2000, were designated under E.O. 14059 and E.O. 13224, as amended, for acting on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel.
