This article originally appeared in the September 18, 2025 edition of Sin Embargo.
Mexico City. The United States Department of the Treasury announced this Thursday that it has applied sanctions to Los Mayos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, and cells run by this group, directly related to the Zambada family. In addition, the accusation has indicated that the now Morena Deputy Hilda Araceli Brown Figueredo, was colluding with this group when she was Mayor of Rosarito, in Baja California
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the sanctions enforcement arm, announced today that these measures follow a visit by Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley to the U.S.-Mexico border.
OFAC has designated five individuals and 15 companies in connection with one of the Mayos’ regional networks operating south of the U.S.-Mexico border, as well as the leader of another Sinaloa Cartel-affiliated fentanyl production gang.
“The Sinaloa Cartel is a foreign terrorist organization that continues to traffic narcotics, launder its profits, and corrupt local officials,” said Under Secretary Hurley. “Today’s action, taken in coordination with our law enforcement partners, demonstrates Treasury’s dedication to President Donald Trump’s priority of stemming cross-border threats.”
UIF Announces “Administrative Blocking” of Accounts
“Following the OFAC designation, and within the framework of the international cooperation mechanisms to which Mexico is a party regarding the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) has issued an “administrative freeze,” the Mexican agency announced.
“The integration of international lists issued by foreign authorities allows the UIF to act in coordination with the Mexican financial system to prevent illicit funds from being introduced or dispersed throughout the national economy,” the UIF explained in a statement.
OFAC, the UIF explained, has designated 22 targets in Mexico (7 individuals and 15 legal entities). This block will apply to them, including Morena Representative Brown Figueredo.
“In this sense, the possible inclusion on the Blocked Persons List is a preventive measure, not a judicial determination, and does not prejudge the existence of criminal liability without evidence,” he emphasized.
The UIF will analyze the financial information related to the designated entities and, if it identifies potential illicit activities, will immediately notify the Attorney General’s Office (FGR) for the appropriate legal action.
“The UIF reaffirms that all international cooperation actions in financial matters are carried out in accordance with the law and with the objective of protecting the integrity of the Mexican financial system. Administrative freezes in national territory are applied in accordance with the designation made by OFAC and the international commitments assumed by the Mexican State,” it explained.
Los Mayos Control Part of the Border, US Treasury Accuses
Los Mayos faction, the U.S. Treasury accuses in its sanctions announcement Thursday, of being responsible for the production and trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and methamphetamine from northwestern Mexico to the United States.
In Rosarito, Baja California, Los Mayos are involved in kidnappings, extortion, money laundering, and corruption in the local government, according to the report. “Due to its proximity to the United States border, Rosarito and its surrounding areas constitute a key artery for the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug trafficking operations,” U.S. authorities conclude.
In addition to trafficking deadly drugs, the Sinaloa Cartel has profited from migrant smuggling across the southern border.
Who are Los Mayos?
The Treasury identifies Los Mayos as a rival faction of “Los Chapitos,” the group controlled by the sons of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera. Los Mayos maintain a strong presence in the Mexican states of Baja California, Sonora, and Zacatecas. Through various alliances, they have trafficked illicit fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, and cocaine, which are smuggled into the United States.
Territorial disputes between Los Mayos and Los Chapitos have caused the deaths of more than 1,000 people in the Mexican state of Sinaloa, according to US authorities. The Sinaloa Cartel collapsed in July 2024, when Joaquín Guzmán López betrayed Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada García and took him to the US, where he handed him over to US authorities in an incident whose key details are still unknown and which the Trump administration has avoided publicizing.
The US has identified Juan José Ponce Félix—also known as Jesús Alexandro Sánchez Félix—”El Ruso” (The Russian) as the founder and leader of the main armed wing of the Los Mayos group, which controls drug trafficking routes in Baja California.
In a 2015 indictment, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California identified “El Ruso” as the leader of a fleet of soldiers who engaged in kidnappings, hostage-taking, torture, and murder in support of the Sinaloa Cartel’s interests in Culiacán.
As a veteran member of the Sinaloa Cartel, his current dominance in Baja California has strengthened Los Mayos drug trafficking operations to the United States. On September 16, 2025, the State Department announced a reward under the Narcotics Rewards Program (NRP), offering up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest or conviction.
“The Mayos faction is being designated pursuant to Executive Order 14059 and Executive Order 13224, as amended, for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Sinaloa Cartel,” OFAC warned Thursday.
Additionally, Juan José Ponce Félix is being designated pursuant to Executive Order 14059 and Executive Order 13224, as amended, for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel, directly or indirectly.
OFAC also sanctioned Carlos Alberto Páez Pereda, known as “Carlitos,” who it identifies as the leader of a violent gang of Sinaloa Cartel hitmen known as “Los Rugrats,” based in Laguna Colorada, Sinaloa. “Páez is a fentanyl producer and one of the main drug traffickers in Culiacán, Sinaloa. Páez is known to have murdered and attempted to murder members of rival cartels on the orders of René Arzate,” it detailed.
Morena Deputy Involved in the Cartel
According to the U.S. government, Los Mayos control northern Baja California is under the leadership of two Sinaloa Cartel leaders, Alfonso Arzate García and René Arzate García, also known as the Arzate brothers.
Former Rosarito mayor and now Morena federal deputy Hilda Araceli Brown Figueredo (left), along with Candelario Arcega Aguirre, a political operative for Los Mayos. Photo: OFAC
“One of the towns controlled by René Arzate is Rosarito, a coastal community approximately 15 miles south of the U.S.-Mexico border in California. The Herrera brothers work with Jesús González Lomelí, a Rosarito-based business magnate and senior financial official for the Sinaloa Cartel, to assist the organization in its operations in the area,” the Treasury detailed in its sanctions announcement.
González owns several bars and restaurants in Rosarito, including Bombay Beach Club, Coco Beach Club, and Mariscos El Caimán, as well as other restaurants, nightclubs, and resorts throughout Mexico. “González has used his businesses to launder millions of dollars in drug proceeds on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel for the Arzate brothers, as well as other senior cartel figures, such as ‘El Ruso,'” OFAC said.
But their influence extends not only to the business sector, but also to politics. The Arzate brothers have also used the influence of González and another political operative affiliated with the Sinaloa Cartel, Candelario Arcega Aguirre, “to corrupt and control the Rosarito municipal government, particularly former mayor Hilda Araceli Brown Figueredo,” the Treasury notes.
Brown Figueredo was Mayor of Rosarito between 2021 and 2024. In 2024, she entered the Chamber of Deputies on behalf of Morena, the ruling party, which also controls the Baja California governorship with Marina del Pilar.
“Arcega,” the Treasury says, “maintains a close personal relationship with Brown and, thanks to this, was able to control parts of the municipal government and appoint his allies to high-level positions within the Rosarito government.”
During Brown’s presidency, U.S. authorities add, González and Arcega served as intermediaries between Brown and the Arzate brothers, allies of “Los Mayos.” Working together, González, Arcega, and Brown collected extortion payments for the Arzates, helped manage their operations, and ensured protection for their criminal activities from the Rosarito Department of Public Safety, the Treasury revealed.
Hilda Araceli Brown Figueredo, in 2021, when she was Mayor of Rosarito, during a Wellbeing Programs event. Photo: Cuartoscuro
Brown Figueredo was Mayor of Rosarito between 2021 and 2024. In 2024, she entered the Chamber of Deputies on behalf of Morena, the ruling party, which also controls the Baja California governorship with Marina del Pilar.
“Arcega,” the Treasury says, “maintains a close personal relationship with Brown and, thanks to this, was able to control parts of the municipal government and appoint his allies to high-level positions within the Rosarito government.”
During Brown’s presidency, U.S. authorities add, González and Arcega served as intermediaries between Brown and the Arzate brothers, allies of “Los Mayos.” Working together, González, Arcega, and Brown collected extortion payments for the Arzates, helped manage their operations, and ensured protection for their criminal activities from the Rosarito Department of Public Safety, the Treasury revealed.
Therefore, “González, Arcega, and Brown are being designated pursuant to Executive Order 14059 and Executive Order 13224, as amended, for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel, directly or indirectly,” as well as a group of 14 companies owned by González and another transportation company owned by Arcega.
Scope of Treasury Actions
With Thursday’s announcement, the U.S. Treasury sanctions mean that “all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above, located in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons, are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.”
In addition, any entity that is owned, directly or indirectly, individually or collectively, 50 percent or more, by one or more blocked persons is also blocked.
“Except as expressly authorized by a general or specific license or exemption issued by OFAC, OFAC regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or in transit through) the United States that involve property or interests in property of blocked persons,” he noted.
Failure to comply with U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. citizens and foreign nationals. OFAC may impose civil penalties for sanctions violations based on strict liability. Additionally, financial institutions and other persons may be exposed to sanctions for engaging in certain transactions or activities involving designated or blocked persons.
Prohibitions include making any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated or blocked person, or receiving any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from such person.
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The US Treasury has sanctioned Los Mayos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, and has also named a Morena Congresswoman who, while mayor of Rosarito, colluded with this criminal organization.
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