Trump administration sanctions three Mexican financial firms over alleged cartel ties

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The Department of the Treasury sanctioned CIBanco, Intercam Banco and Vector Casa de Bolsa for allegedly laundering money for major drug cartels and aiding the global fentanyl trade.

The move marks the first enforcement under the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, aiming to cut off cartel-linked entities from the U.S. financial system.

Treasury's financial crimes unit found the firms were "vital cogs" in cartel operations, citing extensive ties to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), Gulf Cartel and Sinaloa Cartel.

From 2021 to 2024, CIBanco and Intercam allegedly processed $3.6 million for fentanyl precursor imports from China; Vector reportedly moved over $17 million in similar suspicious transfers.

FinCEN reported cartel meetings with Intercam executives, Gulf Cartel-linked money laundering through CIBanco, and Vector's role in processing bribes and laundering millions since 2013.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has announced new sanctions against three Mexican financial institutions accused of laundering money for powerful drug cartels.

In an announcement on Wednesday, June 25, the Treasury Department imposed restrictions on CIBanco, Intercam Banco and Vector Casa de Bolsa, effectively barring U.S. banks and financial firms from conducting transactions with them. The targeted firms collectively manage assets totaling more than $22 billion.

"Cartels have exploited Mexico-based financial institutions to move money, enabling the vicious fentanyl supply chain that has poisoned countless Americans," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"Through the first use of a new powerful authority granted by Congress, Treasury will effectively require U.S. financial institutions to sever ties with 3 Mexico-based financial institutions for laundering money on behalf of cartels. Both the United States and Mexico are committed to financial systems with strong anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism controls and these actions affirm Treasury's commitment to using all tools at our disposal to counter the threat posed by terrorist organizations," Bessent added.

The move marks the first use of the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the recently enacted FEND Off Fentanyl Act, part of a broader bipartisan effort to combat the deadly opioid crisis that has devastated American communities. (Related: U.S. designates Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations, unleashing financial warfare.)

Moreover, Treasury said its goal is to cut off access to the U.S. financial system for anyone linked to Mexican drug cartels that the Trump administration has designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) or Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

"The actions we have taken today will effectively cut off three Mexican-based financial institutions, CI Banco, Intercam and Vector, from doing business with U.S. financial institutions," Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender said.

FinCEN uncovers three "vital cogs" in drug money laundering network

The sanction was imposed after the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) found the companies were deeply entangled in laundering money for powerful drug cartels and facilitating the global fentanyl trade.

According to the FinCEN, CIBanco, Intercam Banco and Vector Casa de Bolsa were "moving money on behalf of cartels" and had become "vital cogs in the fentanyl supply chain." FinCEN's investigation uncovered a "long-standing pattern of associations, transactions and provision of financial services" between CIBanco and Intercam and several major Mexican drug trafficking organizations, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Gulf Cartel.

Between 2021 and 2024, CIBanco and Intercam allegedly processed over $3.6 million in payments for fentanyl precursor chemicals imported from China for illicit drug production in Mexico.

FinCEN also revealed that Intercam executives met directly with suspected CJNG members in 2022 to discuss laundering schemes involving fund transfers from China. In a separate incident, a CIBanco employee allegedly helped open an account in 2023 to launder $10 million on behalf of a Gulf Cartel operative.

Vector Casa de Bolsa, a major brokerage firm, has been under FinCEN's scrutiny for more than a decade. The agency alleges that as far back as 2013, a Sinaloa Cartel "money mule" used the firm to launder at least $2 million from the U.S. into Mexico.

In 2021 alone, Vector allegedly facilitated over $17 million in suspicious wire transfers to multiple China-based companies on behalf of a business linked to international drug trafficking. Since 2019, the brokerage is believed to have routed funds to over 20 Chinese companies involved in shipping fentanyl precursor chemicals to Mexico.

The investigation also uncovered that Vector processed bribe payments from the Sinaloa Cartel to a now-convicted former high-ranking Mexican law enforcement official in 2023.

Learn more about Mexican organized crime at DrugCartels.news.

Watch this Feb. 20 episode of "Brighteon Broadcast News" as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about the U.S. military waging war on drug cartels.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.