November 29, 2024 — Incessant poaching by Mexican fishermen off Texas is directly tied to the Gulf Cartel and its other criminal trafficking in narcotics and human smuggling, U.S. Treasury Department officials said in announcing sanctions against five cartel operatives.
The sanctions seek to block transactions and property transfers between the targeted cartel members and U.S. citizens. Illegal fishing operations in U.S. Gulf of Mexico territorial waters typically target snapper and shark species, smuggling their catch from off Texas back to fishing camps in Mexico – and often trans-shipment to U.S. buyers, according to Treasury officials.
“Today’s action highlights how transnational criminal organizations like the Gulf Cartel rely on a variety of illicit schemes like IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing to fund their operations, along with narcotics trafficking and human smuggling,” said Bradley T. Smith, the Treasury department’s acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.