In a move to combat the flow of illicit fentanyl into the United States, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced sweeping sanctions today, June 9, 2025, against “Los Chapitos,” a notoriously violent faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, and its leaders, the sons of incarcerated drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Los Chapitos for its central role in producing and trafficking the deadly synthetic opioid. The group’s laboratories are believed to be a primary source of fentanyl found in counterfeit pills that have flooded American communities.
The action also highlights the cartel’s brutality, linking its gunmen to the October 18, 2024, murder of former U.S. Marine Nicholas Quets in Sonora, Mexico.
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At the heart of the designation are two of El Chapo’s fugitive sons, Archivaldo Ivan Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, who are accused of steering the powerful cartel faction. Reinforcing the gravity of the threat they pose, the U.S. Department of State is offering rewards of up to $10 million each for information leading to their capture and conviction. Their brothers, Ovidio Guzman Lopez and Joaquin Guzman Lopez, are currently in U.S. custody.
“Los Chapitos is a powerful, hyperviolent faction of the Sinaloa Cartel at the forefront of fentanyl trafficking into the United States,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “At the Department of the Treasury, we are executing on President Trump’s mandate to completely eliminate drug cartels and take on violent leaders like ‘El Chapo’s’ children. Treasury is maximizing all available tools to stop the fentanyl crisis and help save lives.”
The sanctions are the ninth such action against cartels under the current administration and were coordinated with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). They fall under Executive Orders targeting the proliferation of illicit drugs and terrorism. The move follows the State Department’s designation of the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) on February 20, 2025.
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A Web of Violence and Criminal Enterprise
According to the Treasury, the four sons of El Chapo, collectively known as Los Chapitos, have consolidated control over a significant portion of the Sinaloa Cartel. The faction’s dominance in the fentanyl trade is attributed to its control over precursor chemical procurement and a network of clandestine production labs in Sinaloa. This ruthless pursuit of power has fueled extreme violence, with turf wars involving Los Chapitos leading to over 600 deaths in Sinaloa since September 2024.
The sanctions extend beyond the top leadership, targeting a key regional network in Mazatlan, Sinaloa. This cell is allegedly led by Victor Manuel Barraza Pablos, a plaza boss who oversees drug trafficking, kidnapping, and murder. His operations are reportedly financed by Mexican businessman Jose Raul Nunez Rios, who is accused of laundering drug proceeds through a portfolio of real estate, construction, and hospitality businesses established since 2021.
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Nunez’s wife, Sheila Paola Urias Vazquez, a makeup artist, has also been sanctioned for allegedly acting as a front person for the illicit financial network, with her name attached to a spa, salon, and other companies.
In total, ten businesses owned or controlled by Nunez were designated by OFAC, including hospitality companies like Beach Y Marina, S.A. de C.V., and Club Playa Real, S.A. de C.V., as well as a spa and other commercial enterprises.
As a result of today’s action, all property and assets of the designated individuals and entities within the United States or in the control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. The sanctions prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons that involve any property of the designated individuals. Foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitate significant transactions on behalf of the sanctioned individuals also risk severe penalties, including losing access to the U.S. financial system.
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