Arturo Sánchez Jiménez, Emir Olivares and AP
La Jornada newspaper
Wednesday, April 16, 2025, p. 4
The United States Department of the Treasury, through its Foreign Assets Control Office (OFAC), announced yesterday sanctions against four members of The new Michoacan family (LNFM), Cartel designated as a terrorist organization by Donald Trump’s government.
According to US authorities, the group is not only dedicated to fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine traffic, but also to the traffic of migrants to the United States, in addition to executing attacks against rival groups and against Mexican security forces using drones and bombs, in addition to firearms.
The Ofac, an agency that is responsible for combating illicit financing and money laundering, indicated that among those sanctioned are the brothers Johnny and José Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga. They are identified as the leaders of the cartel that operates in the Mexican states of Michoacán – where there is their main bastion -, Guerrero, Morelos and the State of Mexico.
In addition to the sanctions, the State Department announced rewards of up to 5 million dollars for information that leads to Johnny’s arrest and up to 3 million by José Alfredo.
Today’s announcement reaffirms our commitment to increase pressure on organizations such as LNFM, which continue to poison our communities with mortal fentanyl, trafficing people and attacking authorities
declared the secretary of the Treasury, Scott Besent. He added that the Trump administration will continue to use all the tools at your disposal to combat violent cartels.
Michael Herskowitz, head of the Narcotics Section of the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Atlanta, said at a press conference, according to ABC News, that these members of the LNFM They were accused by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia of several crimes related to the manufacture, distribution and import of massive amounts of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl to the United States
.
In addition, two other brothers of the clan were sanctioned: Ubaldo Hurtado Olascoaga, who according to the US authorities is dedicated to supervising the hitmen and illegally extract mercury and uranium, and Adita Hurtado Olascoaga, whom they point out of bleaching money from drug trafficking for the cartel, even through used clothing stores, and collaborating in the weapons of the United States to the United States Mexico.
The action was carried out in coordination with US federal agencies such as DEA, the Department of Justice, the National Security Investigation Office and the State Department, in addition to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Mexico.
LNFM, with a strong presence in Guerrero and Michoacán, has been indicated for committing kidnappings, extortion and murders in Mexico, in addition to laundering money through trade schemes.
With these sanctions, all the assets and interests of those sanctioned under US jurisdiction are blocked. Likewise, transactions are prohibited with people or entities that represent them or are controlled by them.
