CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 The U.S. Department of the Treasury has designated the Ju\u00e1rez Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, a move that significantly expands the financial and legal tools available to target the criminal organization with deep ties to the U.S.-Mexico border.<\/p>\n
The designation, announced Wednesday through the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, also includes the Mexican criminal organization Los Viagras. The update appears on OFAC’s sanctions list released July 15. <\/p>\n
The action means all property and interests in property belonging to the designated organizations that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked. It also prohibits U.S. individuals and businesses from engaging in transactions with the organizations and exposes those who provide material support to additional sanctions or criminal penalties. <\/p>\n
The designation carries particular significance for the Borderland because the Ju\u00e1rez Cartel has long operated in Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez, directly across from El Paso. The organization has historically controlled major drug trafficking routes into the United States through ports of entry in West Texas and has been involved in violent territorial disputes with rival criminal groups. <\/p>\n
According to the State Department’s notice published Wednesday, the designation was made after consultation with the U.S. Attorney General and Treasury Secretary and concluded there was sufficient factual basis under federal law to classify the Ju\u00e1rez Cartel and Los Viagras as Foreign Terrorist Organizations. <\/p>\n
The Treasury’s OFAC designation simultaneously places both groups under U.S. counterterrorism sanctions, allowing authorities to freeze assets within U.S. jurisdiction and restrict financial transactions involving the organizations. <\/p>\n
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