US imposes sanctions on members of the fentanyl-smuggling La Linea drug cartel

The United States announced sanctions this week against members of a Mexico-based drug cartel.

On Thursday, five Mexican nationals and two companies linked to La Linea — a violent drug trafficking group in Mexico that transports fentanyl and other synthetic drugs to the U.S. for the Juárez cartel — were hit with economic sanctions.

Fentanyl in the USA

The sanctions are aimed at curbing a significant supply of fentanyl, a powerful opioid that is now considered the deadliest drug in the United States

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overdose deaths in the U.S. increased more than sevenfold from 2015 to 2021, although the agency reported a slight 3 percent decline in overdose deaths this year.

The Drug Enforcement Administration reports that most fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances entering the United States come from Mexico and China. According to the agency tasked with combating the illegal drug trade, almost all of the precursor chemicals needed to produce fentanyl are supplied from China.

Fentanyl enforcement is becoming a key political issue as Republicans argue that fentanyl trafficking across the U.S.-Mexico border should be addressed alongside immigration – a key issue in the 2024 presidential campaign.

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican Party's presidential nominee, has blamed the trafficking of drugs like fentanyl on migrants, even though federal data suggests many people caught smuggling fentanyl across the border are U.S. citizens.

La Linea

La Linea and the Juárez Cartel have a reputation for brutal violence against civilians, and U.S. authorities have made efforts to hold them accountable. In July 2022, a federal judge in North Dakota ordered La Linea to pay $4.6 billion in damages to the families of nine Americans killed in an ambush in northern Mexico on November 4, 2019.

“If La Linea continues to directly contribute to the spread of deadly fentanyl in our communities, Treasury will continue to use every tool in our arsenal to prosecute their criminal activities,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement announcing the sanctions became.

Sanctions

The Biden administration has stepped up crackdowns on fentanyl traffickers, filed drug and money laundering charges against known drug traffickers, and released charges and sanctions against Chinese companies and executives responsible for supplying fentanyl precursor chemicals.

In December 2023, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen established the Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force, a coordinated effort drawing on personnel and intelligence from across the Treasury Department—including its sanctions and intelligence divisions as well as the IRS Criminal Investigation Division—to support efforts to block drug trafficking to strengthen in the United States.

This article contains reporting from The Associated Press.