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U.S. Treasury sanctions crypto wallets tied to Sinaloa Cartel fentanyl network
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May 21, 2026
The U.S. Treasury has sanctioned two networks linked to the Sinaloa Cartel over allegations that they used cryptocurrency transactions to move fentanyl trafficking proceeds.
According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the sanctions announced Wednesday were carried out through a coordinated operation led by the Homeland Security Task Force with support from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration would continue targeting cartel-linked financial operations tied to fentanyl trafficking. In a statement released by the Treasury, Bessent said the government would not allow “narco-terrorists” to use financial networks to move drug-related proceeds into the United States.
Among those added to the sanctions list was Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles, whom the Treasury accused of helping convert cash into cryptocurrency on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel. The department also identified Jesus Alonso Aispuro Felix as an associate allegedly involved in transferring drug trafficking proceeds through blockchain-based transactions.
At the same time, the Treasury attached six Ethereum wallet addresses to the sanctions designation. Five of those addresses were linked to Ojeda Aviles, according to the department’s release.
Blockchain activity tied to the listed wallets showed limited recent movement. Data referenced in the Treasury announcement indicated that five of the six Ethereum addresses had remained inactive for years. One address ending in “e27cb,” however, reportedly sent $894 worth of Tether’s USDT stablecoin on April 27 after more than a year without recorded activity.
Treasury expands cartel-linked crypto enforcement
Treasury officials said the sanctions were issued under two executive orders focused on combating illicit drug production and organizations designated as terrorists or supporters of terrorism.
In its statement, the Treasury described the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization responsible for trafficking significant quantities of fentanyl into the United States. The department said the drug continues to contribute to tens of thousands of deaths annually across the country.
Federal agencies have previously linked cryptocurrency networks to cartel financing operations across Latin America. A July 2025 report from the U.S. Department of Justice said the DEA had seized more than $10 million in crypto assets connected to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Elsewhere in the region, Brazilian authorities have also investigated organized crime groups accused of using digital assets to launder illicit funds. In August 2024, civil police in São Paulo dismantled a money laundering operation allegedly tied to the Primeiro Comando da Capital, or PCC, one of Brazil’s largest criminal gangs.
According to CNN Brasil, investigators said the group operated a cryptocurrency exchange that handled nearly 500 million Brazilian reais, or about $88.6 million at the time. Authorities reportedly seized 55 million reais in checks during raids linked to the investigation, while police arrested 13 individuals connected to the scheme.
Earlier investigations in Brazil pointed to similar patterns. In June 2023, the country’s Special Department of Federal Revenue raided six cryptocurrency exchanges accused of laundering roughly $380 million in illicit funds. A separate federal police operation in 2024 dismantled another crypto-linked laundering network that authorities valued at about $2.6 billion.
A 2023 report cited by regional investigators had already identified the growing use of cryptocurrency among organized crime groups in Latin America, including the Sinaloa Cartel and MS-13. Despite those cases, crypto adoption in Brazil continued to rise, with local trading volumes climbing 30% in 2024 while regulators advanced digital asset oversight measures.
Sources >> U.S. Treasury sanctions crypto wallets tied to Sinaloa Cartel fentanyl network
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