Special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso, along with the assistance of multiple law enforcement partners, initiated an operation against the Lopez HSO in 2023 that spanned three states and resulted in a series of indictments and arrests. On July 25, 2024, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico announced additional indictments against the Lopez HSO and a La Linea cartel member who has assisted in the organization’s human smuggling operations across Mexico and into the United States. La Linea, also known as the Juarez Cartel, was most recently designated pursuant to Treasury’s counternarcotics authorities in 2021.
Today, OFAC also issued an alert to raise awareness of sanctions and criminal liability risks for foreign financial institutions and other entities with exposure to international cartels recently designated as terrorist organizations, some of which had been previously designated as transnational criminal organizations engaged in human smuggling and other violent acts.
These actions advance the Trump Administration’s commitment to prioritize the security of Americans by targeting criminal groups that contribute to crime and violence along our southern border, including through illegal migration.
Source by Treasury Department
