On October 30, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted the Bhardwaj Human Smuggling Organization (“Bhardwaj HSO”), a Mexico-based transnational criminal organization (“TCO”) that is allegedly responsible for smuggling thousands of illegal aliens into the United States from Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia. According to OFAC, Bhardwaj HSO transports undocumented migrants into Mexico and then provides them with housing until they are taken to the U.S.-Mexico border and transported into the United States. OFAC also reported that Bhardwaj HSO engages in other criminal activities, including drug trafficking, bribery, and money laundering. In addition to designating the TCO, OFAC designated Vikrant Bhardwaj, the TCO’s leader, along with three other individuals with key roles in the group’s drug trafficking or human smuggling operations, including Jorge Alejandro Mendoza Villegas, a former police officer who allegedly helps the TCO by coordinating the arrival and departure of undocumented migrants at the Cancun International Airport. OFAC also designated 16 companies that allegedly facilitate Bhardwaj HSO’s criminal activities, profit from the group, or are owned or controlled by Bhardwaj or his newly-designated associates.
The designations were imposed pursuant to Executive Order 13581, as amended, for being a foreign person that constitutes a significant TCO or is an individual or entity that has supported or worked on behalf of the Bhardwaj HSO. As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving a designated person. Entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more designated persons are also blocked.
U.S. Department of Treasury Press Release | OFAC Chart – Bhardwaj Human Smuggling Organization