U.S. targets Sinaloa cartel, assets

WASHINGTON, July 24 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury Department said Tuesday it has designated nine entities and 10 individuals as linked to a Mexican drug kingpin.

The group is tied to Juan Jose Esparragoza Moreno, aka "El Azul," a leader of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said.

A department statement said El Azul has used proceeds from his narcotics trade to build a large network of businesses, including a housing development, a shopping mall and an industrial park operated by members of his network and family.

The designations under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act Kingpin Act, prohibits anyone in the United States from conducting financial or commercial transactions with the entities or individuals, and also freezes any assets they may have under U.S. jurisdiction.

Esparragoza Moreno was indicted on drug trafficking charges in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in 2003. He is wanted in both the United States and Mexico.

The U.S. State Department Narcotics Rewards Program is offering up to $5 million for information leading to Esparragoza Moreno's arrest and/or conviction, while Mexican authorities are offering 30 million pesos ($2.18 million) for information leading to his capture. Esparragoza Moreno has been active in drug trafficking since the 1970s, the department said.

The designation includes six Esparragoza Moreno family members, including Maria Guadalupe Gastelum Payan, one of Esparragoza Moreno's wives, who owns property in Tlajomulco de Zuniga, a town near Guadalajara, on his behalf. Gastelum Payan and her four children with Esparragoza Moreno own and operate the companies Grupo Cinjab S.A. de C.V. and Grupo Impergoza S.A. de C.V., the department said.

Juvencio Ignacio Gonzalez Parada, who plays a key role in Grupo Cinjab S.A. de C.V. and Grupo Impergoza S.A. de C.V., also was designated, the department said.

The final Esparragoza Moreno family member designated is Ofelia Monzon Araujo, also a wife of Esparragoza Moreno. She and three others designated -- Elvira Araujo Monzon, Ulises Guzman Ochoa and Martin Humberto Ponce Felix -- own and/or control seven gas station companies in Culiacan, Sinaloa, on behalf of Esparragoza Moreno.