WASHINGTON, Feb. 27 (UPI) -- The Treasury Department Thursday said it has frozen U.S. assets and property of eight individuals and 10 entities associated with Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel.
The action comes less than a week after the capture of the cartel's reputed leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera in the resort city of Mazatlan by elite Mexican Marines.
The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control took the action against Hugo Cuellar Hurtado, a dual Colombian-Mexican national described as "a longtime criminal, who supports illicit drug trafficking activities and promotes organized crime."
Also designated was all U.S. property and interests in property of alleged drug kingpin Esparragoza Moreno -- also known as "El Azul," the blue in Spanish -- and six other individuals and 10 entities linked to Cuellar Hurtado.
Esparragoza was indicted on federal trafficking charges in Texas in 2003 and is a fugitive in Mexico.
"Mexican authorities achieved a major victory with the capture of Chapo Guzman. Building on this success, OFAC will continue targeting the finances and operations of the Sinaloa Cartel and its other leaders, including Esparragoza Moreno," said OFCA Director Adam J. Szubin.
"Today's action marks the next step in this effort by targeting Hugo Cuellar Hurtado, who poses as a businessman involved in enterprises ranging from ostrich farming to pawn shops."
Five of the individuals targeted are Cuellar Hurtado's family members, including his son John Fredy Cuellar Silva, four of the entities are Mexican companies, and six, Colombia companies.
