The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned a violent Mexican cartel accused of stealing fuel and oil valued in the billions, marking the Trump administration’s latest crackdown on criminal organizations draining resources from legitimate energy companies.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sanctions on Wednesday against Cartel de Santa Rosa de Lima and its imprisoned leader, Jose Antonio Yepez Ortiz, known as “El Marro” (the sledgehammer).
The move targets cartels’ most lucrative non-drug revenue stream: petroleum theft that costs Mexico’s state oil company Pemex billions annually while fueling cross-border black markets and violent turf wars.
“President Trump made a promise to pursue the total elimination of drug cartels to protect the American people,” Bessent said. “At my direction, the Treasury Department is aggressively cutting these criminals off from the U.S. financial system.”
The cartel operates primarily in Guanajuato state, where it battles the notorious Jalisco New Generation Cartel for control of pipelines and refineries. Their conflict has transformed the region into one of Mexico’s deadliest states.
Fuel thieves, known locally as “huachicoleros,” deploy various tactics: bribing corrupt Pemex employees, drilling illegal pipeline taps, hijacking tanker trucks, and threatening workers. The stolen petroleum often enters the United States mislabeled as “waste oil” to evade scrutiny.
Complicit U.S. importers near the southwest border purchase the contraband at steep discounts before selling it on legitimate energy markets. The profits flow back to Mexican cartels.
Despite his 2020 arrest and 60-year prison sentence for kidnapping, Yepez Ortiz continues directing cartel operations through lawyers and family members. He allegedly orchestrated alliances with the Gulf and Sinaloa cartels from behind bars.
Mexican authorities seized 164,000 liters of stolen hydrocarbons from the cartel in August, along with tanks, trucks, and pipeline-tapping equipment.
The sanctions freeze all U.S. assets belonging to the cartel and Yepez Ortiz. Americans are prohibited from conducting business with them.
Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network reported receiving alerts about $827 million in suspicious oil-related transactions between the U.S. and Mexico in recent months. The average smuggling transaction totals $5 million.
Most suspicious activity occurs in Texas border towns, including Brownsville, Mission, Eagle Pass, and McAllen.
The Treasury designation follows the State Department’s February classification of Jalisco New Generation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. That cartel also profits extensively from petroleum theft while trafficking drugs.
Wednesday’s action represents the Trump administration’s expanding campaign against Mexican cartels’ diverse revenue streams beyond narcotics trafficking.
