Advertisement

Treasury freezes Los Zetas members' assets

WASHINGTON, July 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury Department froze $20 million in assets Tuesday related to two men suspected of laundering money for the Los Zetas Mexican drug cartel.

The two men are Mexican nationals, Jose Odilon Ramirez Perales and Ismael Lopez Guerrero. Perales is a powerful financial operative for the Los Zetas cartel and Guerrero is accused of collecting cash from the organization's outposts and smuggling it back into Mexico for safekeeping.

Advertisement

Mexican authorities took both men into custody in 2012. They are wanted on drug trafficking and money laundering charges in Texas, the Treasury Department said.

The leader of the Los Zetas cartel, Miguel Trevino Morales, was arrested last week by the Mexican military. Two other top lieutenants who had a hand in the cartel's complex finances were also arrested.

"This is another clear example of the central importance of financial operatives within the operational structure of drug cartels," said Adam J. Szubin. treasury's director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control. "Treasury's action today targets the activities of two other significant financial operatives for Los Zetas. We will continue to support our Mexican partners to target those laundering Los Zetas' ill-gotten gains."

Advertisement

Latest Headlines