The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned five Mexican nationals who are associated with the Gulf Cartel, a criminal organization involved in smuggling drugs and people across borders.
According to research from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, the Gulf cartel currently controls border cities such as Matamoros and Reynosa, both of which have suffered high levels of violence since the Mexican government launched an offensive against Gulf Cartel leaders in those cities.
The Gulf Cartel also engages in illicit trade in red snapper and shark species through “lancha” operations based out of Playa Bagdad, also known as Playa Costa Azul, a beach several miles south of the US border, according to OFAC. These lanchas are small boats used by Mexican fishermen and are also used for moving illicit drugs and migrants into the US.
OFAC has sanctioned Ismael Guerra Salinas and his brother Omar Guerra Salina, who are members of the Gulf Cartel responsible for Playa Baghdad. Among the sanctioned individuals are also Francisco Javier Sierra Angulo, leader of the Mexican city of Matamoros’s Gulf Cartel, and two boat owners, Raul Decuir Garcia and Ildelfonso Carrillo Sapien.
