In the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s administration, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent launched an aggressive “pressure campaign” targeting violent cartels, Breitbart News reports.
BREITBART -- Bessent, speaking exclusively to Breitbart, emphasized his department’s work in advancing Trump’s vision for a “stronger, safer, and more prosperous America.” He explained that tariffs, tax cuts, and deregulation form a unified economic strategy designed to boost domestic manufacturing and family incomes.
Beyond economic reforms, Bessent highlighted the Treasury Department’s efforts to make America safer by attacking cartel finances. His office shared several examples of this campaign:
In February, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) imposed a $37 million penalty on Brink’s Global Services USA, Inc. for violations of anti-money laundering laws.
In March, FinCEN issued a Geographic Targeting Order to disrupt money laundering tied to Mexican cartels and other criminal groups operating along the southwest U.S. border.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned key figures in the Guatemala-based Lopez Human Smuggling Organization, which smuggled thousands of illegal aliens into the U.S.
Additionally, OFAC took actions against six individuals and seven entities tied to a money laundering network supporting the notorious Sinaloa Cartel. It also sanctioned leaders from the Beltran Leyva Organization and La Nueva Familia Michoacana, a cartel designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
“President Trump has made clear that American strength is back,” Bessent’s office told Breitbart. “The Treasury Department is proud to use every tool available to protect Americans from foreign threats.”
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