The United States imposed sanctions on Wednesday (December 17, 2025) against the Mexican Santa Rosa de Lima cartel and its leader, José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, aka “El Marro,” who was arrested in 2020, for running a fuel theft and smuggling network that has become its largest source of income.
According to the Treasury Department, their activities “contribute to an illicit cross-border energy market, undermine legitimate U.S. oil and natural gas companies, and deprive the Mexican government of vital revenue.”
The Treasury Department believed that crude oil smuggling and fuel theft, known in Mexico as “huachicoleo,” was currently the primary source of non-drug trafficking revenue for Mexican cartels.
“Under my leadership, the Treasury Department is aggressively isolating these criminals from the American financial system. No matter where or how cartels raise and launder money, we will find and stop them,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
He denounced that these suspected thieves, known as “Huachicoleros,” steal fuel and crude oil from state oil company Pemex through various means, primarily by bribing corrupt employees.
The Ministry of Finance assured that “El Marro” was in command of the organization and dictated orders from prison.
The administration of Donald Trump assures that the territorial war between the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel and the Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel (CJNG) has made the central state of Guanajuato one of the most violent states in Mexico.
It is also said that Santa Rosa de Lima has alliances with the Sinaloa Cartel and the Gulf Cartel, both of which are considered terrorist gangs by Washington.
All assets of the sanctioned parties located in the United States or owned or controlled by U.S. persons will be blocked and must be reported.
gs (efe, afp)
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