The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned a man it said facilitates various illicit activities in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG).
Sergio Armando Orozco Rodriguez, who is also known as Chocho, resides in Puerto Vallarta and “has had ties” to multiple nightclubs, bars and restaurants there, according to the Treasury.
Orozco Rodriguez facilitates extortion schemes in the Puerto Vallarta area and many new businesses must receive his permission to open, the Treasury said. Once open, he collects taxes from them on behalf of the cartel, according to the Treasury. He also launders drug proceeds on behalf of CJNG and has links to the cartel’s most senior members, the Treasury said.
“Individuals like Sergio Armand Orozco Rodriguez help CJNG infiltrate the economy of Puerto Vallarta and intimidate legitimate businesses,” said Brian E. Nelson, undersecretary of Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.
“The cartel uses this renowned tourist destination as a strategic stronghold not only for drug trafficking but also money laundering, extortion, kidnappings and assassinations,” Nelson said.
CNJG, which was sanctioned in 2015 along with an allied group, Los Cuinis, is one of the world’s most dangerous transnational crime groups, U.S. authorities have said. CJNG traffics a significant proportion of the fentanyl and other drugs that enter the U.S., the Treasury said.
The sanctions on CJNG were re-imposed under a new, wider authority late last year. The cartel uses Puerto Vallarta as a base of operations to plan criminal activity across Mexico, the Treasury said Thursday, citing sanctions imposed in April 2021 on two men based there who lead a CJNG enforcement group that has helped orchestrate assassinations using high-powered weapons. The pair are linked to a senior CJNG official designated in 2019.
Sergio Armando Orozco Rodriguez, who is also known as Chocho, resides in Puerto Vallarta and “has had ties” to multiple nightclubs, bars and restaurants there, according to the Treasury.
Orozco Rodriguez facilitates extortion schemes in the Puerto Vallarta area and many new businesses must receive his permission to open, the Treasury said. Once open, he collects taxes from them on behalf of the cartel, according to the Treasury. He also launders drug proceeds on behalf of CJNG and has links to the cartel’s most senior members, the Treasury said.
“Individuals like Sergio Armand Orozco Rodriguez help CJNG infiltrate the economy of Puerto Vallarta and intimidate legitimate businesses,” said Brian E. Nelson, undersecretary of Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.
“The cartel uses this renowned tourist destination as a strategic stronghold not only for drug trafficking but also money laundering, extortion, kidnappings and assassinations,” Nelson said.
CNJG, which was sanctioned in 2015 along with an allied group, Los Cuinis, is one of the world’s most dangerous transnational crime groups, U.S. authorities have said. CJNG traffics a significant proportion of the fentanyl and other drugs that enter the U.S., the Treasury said.
The sanctions on CJNG were re-imposed under a new, wider authority late last year. The cartel uses Puerto Vallarta as a base of operations to plan criminal activity across Mexico, the Treasury said Thursday, citing sanctions imposed in April 2021 on two men based there who lead a CJNG enforcement group that has helped orchestrate assassinations using high-powered weapons. The pair are linked to a senior CJNG official designated in 2019.
