Three high-ranking members of the Sinaloa Cartel have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for trafficking drugs, including fentanyl into America.
The suspects identified as Alfonso Arzate, his brother, Rene Arzate, and Rafael Felix, all operate plazas for the transnational criminal organization that was co-founded by Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, according to Mail Online.
The sanctions made on Wednesday, August 9, block any assets the three men may have in the United States. In addition, U.S. citizens are prohibited from having any dealings with them.
The Arzate siblings, who remain fugitive, reportedly run the cartel’s operations in Tijuana and other neighboring cities, importing narcotics, including the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl, to the United States.
According to the Treasury Department, Alfonso Arzate and Rene Arzate have also participated in kidnappings and murders for the notorious cartel. Both men were separately indicted for drug trafficking charges by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in July 2014.
Felix, also known as “The Anthrax Monkey,” a nickname he picked up as a hitman for the Los Anthrax, an enforcer unit for the Sinaloa Cartel, reportedly took a senior role within the organization after the 2013 arrest of gang leader, Rodrigo “Chino Anthrax’ Arechiga.
He was also indicted on drug trafficking charges in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in July 2014 and was arrested by Mexican authorities in November 2014.
However, Felix and other Sinaloa Cartel members fled from a Culiacán, Sinaloa jail in 2017 and remain at large.