The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, said the Monday action targets a network linked to Los Mayos, a Sinaloa Cartel faction it identified as led by Ismael Zambada Sicairos. The network, the agency said, includes members of his inner circle and leaders of cells based in Tijuana.

Zambada Sicairos, a son of longtime Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, is a Mexican and U.S. citizen who was born in Anaheim, Calif., according to OFAC. The Treasury Department identified him as the “undisputed leader of Los Mayos” and said he took his father’s place after the elder Zambada was captured in July 2024. OFAC described Mayito Flaco as “a key figure in Sinaloa Cartel operations for the past two decades under the tutelage of his father.”

In 2021, Zambada Sicairos attempted to conceal his family ties to the cartel by seeking a legal name change in the United States to Fernando Sicairos Aispuro, the Treasury Department said. OFAC imposed the sanctions under U.S. authorities aimed at combating international drug trafficking, targeting what the agency described as institutional protection and money-laundering networks that enable the Sinaloa Cartel to operate along Mexico’s northern border.

Among those sanctioned is Carlos Alberto Torres Torres, the former husband of Baja California Gov. Marina del Pilar Ávila. U.S. authorities accused Torres Torres of narcotics-related corruption, alleging he used his political influence to facilitate cartel operations and protect the organization from prosecution in the Mexicali and Tijuana areas.

The sanctions also target Los Mayos’ operational structure, including Juan José Ponce, known as “El Ruso,” and brothers Alfonso and René Arzate, known as “Aquiles” and “La Rana,” respectively. The State Department’s Narcotics Rewards Program is offering up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest of those individuals, OFAC said.

OFAC also blocked 25 business entities suspected of serving as fronts for money laundering, with a focus on companies in the energy and real estate sectors. The businesses span industries including hotels, currency exchanges, private security, wealth management, gas stations, entertainment, and organic products, according to OFAC. The agency said the entities are controlled or directed by financial and political operators who have also been sanctioned.

As a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property belonging to the designated individuals and entities that are in the United States or under the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked. U.S. citizens and companies are also generally prohibited from conducting financial or commercial transactions with the designated individuals and entities.

After OFAC’s announcement, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Wednesday that Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit, known by its Spanish acronym UIF, had temporarily frozen bank accounts belonging to those targeted within the Mexican financial system. Sheinbaum said some of the people sanctioned by the Treasury Department were already the subjects of investigations by Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office.

OFAC said the action is part of Washington’s strategy to disrupt the financial flows that sustain drug trafficking organizations and their networks.