Trump Administration Slams Mexican Banks for Laundering Money for Drug Cartels

The administration of US President Donald Trump on Wednesday identified three financial institutions in Mexico that it said were involved in money laundering on behalf of several drug cartels in the Latin American country trafficking fentanyl into the United States. The Treasury Department said those institutions were two banks and a brokerage firm, which together manage $22 billion in assets, and which it accused of not only being key players in fentanyl trafficking operations and laundering millions of dollars for the criminal groups, but also of facilitating payments for the opioid precursor chemicals. The agency also announced a ban on US financial institutions from conducting certain transactions to and from these three entities in Mexico.

"Financial facilitators like CIBanco, Intercam and Vector are enabling the poisoning of countless Americans by moving money on behalf of the cartels, making them vital cogs in the fentanyl supply chain. Through the first use of this powerful authority, today's actions reaffirm Treasury's commitment to use every tool at our disposal to counter the threat posed by criminal and terrorist organizations trafficking fentanyl and other drugs," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent charged.

Three cartels

In its statement, the Treasury explained that a CIBanco employee authorized the creation of a bank account by a member of the Gulf Cartel, who was allegedly planning to launder $10 million. The agency also warned that the bank maintained a "historical pattern of relationships, transactions and provision of financial services" not only with the Gulf Cartel, but also with the Jalisco Cartel - New Generation (CJNG) and the Beltran Leyva Cartel.

Likewise, Vector is believed to assist in obtaining precursor chemicals on behalf of the Gulf Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel. The federal agency even explained that one of the figures who has laundered the most money for the Sinaloa Cartel moved $2 million through Vector between 2013 and 2021.

Similarly, it is believed that Intercam executives held meetings with members of the CJNG to discuss different money laundering schemes, which included transactions to and from China. Several Mexican companies were also reported to have used Intercam to send more than $1 million to a Chinese company linked to an individual who shipped fentanyl precursor chemicals to the Latin American country.