U.S. sanctions Los Chapitos faction and Mazatlán network tied to Sinaloa Cartel

Tammy, the State Department spokesperson, said Tuesday that the United States is sanctioning a faction known as Los Chapitos, part of the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel, and a regional network of associates and businesses based in Mazatlán, Mexico.

The move, she said, targets organizations and individuals the department says engage in drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping and money laundering. “The United States is committed to disrupting the illicit manufacture and trafficking of fentanyl,” Tammy said, adding that recent designations are part of a broader effort to “keep illicit drugs off our streets and disrupt the revenue streams funding Mexico based cartels’ violent and criminal activity.”

Tammy tied the designation to a whole-of-government border and law-enforcement effort. She said the administration has recently taken “illegal alien gang members, child predators, rapists, and burglars off the streets” and described sanctions as a tool to disrupt cartel revenue and activity that cross international borders.

The briefing did not name all designated businesses or provide the identities of the two fugitive leaders referred to in the statement beyond calling them fugitive leaders of the Los Chapitos faction. Details such as the specific legal authority used for these designations and the number of entities affected were not specified at the podium and were offered as a matter of agency public statements.

The spokesperson also said related diplomatic engagement will continue, citing Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau’s travel to Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral cooperation on enforcement and economic engagement.

State Department officials did not provide additional operational details at the briefing about how the sanctions will be implemented or timelines for enforcement.