Washington's Voz - US associates 30 Mexicans, businesses with drug trafficking

Browse
our Frontpage

US associates 30 Mexicans,
businesses with drug trafficking

Washington / AFP
08/19/05

The US Treasury on Thursday named 30 persons and businesses associated with Mexican drug cartels, froze their assets and banned any American from doing business with them.

"Today's action deals another blow to the notorious Mexican drug cartels by targeting their financial webs," said Robert Werner, director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
"In addition, we're utilizing critical authorities that allow us to freeze assets while we further investigate their potential ties to Mexican drug kingpins," he said in a statement.

Among those named were nine companies and eight persons associated with the Arriola Marquez drug gang, as well as three companies and four persons associated with the Arellano Felix gang, based in Tijuana , Mexico .
Assets of six others associated with Mexican traffickers Oscar Arturo Arriola Marquez and Miguel Angel Arriola Marquez, all leaders of the Arriola Marquez organization, were also blocked.

"These actions prohibit US persons from engaging in financial and commercial transactions with the designees and freeze any assets the designees may have located in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons," the statement said.