On April 9, 2025, the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Jesus Alfredo Beltran Guzman, a key leader of the drug trafficking organization (“DTO”) Beltran Leyva Organization, for his alleged role in the trafficking illegal drugs, including fentanyl, into the United States. He was designated pursuant to Executive Order 14059, which targets persons involved in the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production. As a result of this designation, all property and interests in property of the designated person 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 blocked persons are also blocked.
On the same day, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) released Financial Trend Analysis that shows fentanyl-related threat patterns and trends found in Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) reports filed in 2024. Financial institutions reportedly filed 1,246 BSA reports in 2024 alone that were linked to approximately $1.4 billion in transactions with suspected links to fentanyl. According to Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent, knowing these trends helps the government to more effectively investigate fentanyl trafficking and money laundering and disrupt those who profit from the fentanyl epidemic.
According to FinCEN’s analysis, the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion – groups that have both been designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, Specially Designated Global Terrorists, and Drug Trafficking Organizations in the United States – primarily control the U.S. supply of fentanyl from Mexico and the use of precursor chemicals and special equipment to manufacture the drug. The analysis also shows that the main source of precursor chemicals and manufacturing equipment for the cartels is the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”). FinCEN also identified Mexico and the PRC as the top two countries listed in the subject fields of BSA reports filed in 2024 with possible links to the fentanyl supply chain.
U.S. Department of Treasury Press Release | FinCEN Press Release | Financial Trend Analysis