The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on five individuals tied to Mexico’s Gulf Cartel for illegal fishing activities in American waters, in a targeted effort to curb the criminal group’s expanding revenue sources. The action, announced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), represents a notable escalation in addressing the cartel’s involvement in unreported fishing, an enterprise that officials say funds its larger illegal operations. While the Gulf Cartel is primarily known for violent drug trafficking, it has increasingly turned to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing as a means to sustain its criminal network.
“Criminal groups like the Gulf Cartel are constantly seeking new ways to generate income,” said Bradley T. Smith, acting under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. “By going after IUU fishing alongside more traditional crimes such as drug trafficking, we are revealing the extent of their operations.”
The cartel relies on small, fast boats known as “lanchas” to harvest shark and red snapper from U.S. waters without authorization. These species are highly sought after due to their abundance under strict American fishery rules. Operating from Playa Bagdad near Tamaulipas, Mexico, these ventures bring in millions of dollars each year, according to OFAC.
“These fishing activities not only damage marine ecosystems but also serve as a front for smuggling drugs and people,” a U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson stated. “The dual role of lanchas highlights how different forms of crime are interconnected.”
Those named in the sanctions include Ismael Guerra Salinas, also known as “Mayelo,” and his brother Omar Guerra Salinas, who oversee the lancha operations in Playa Bagdad. Another figure, Francisco Javier Sierra Angulo, alias “El Borrado,” leads the cartel’s efforts in Matamoros, Tamaulipas.
The Biden administration has stressed the wider consequences of IUU fishing, noting that it worsens overfishing and disrupts global fisheries vital for economic and environmental sustainability. A 2022 National Security Memorandum identified IUU fishing as “one of the greatest threats to ocean health.”
The U.S. worked with Mexican authorities, including La Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), to implement these sanctions, aiming to strengthen cross-border cooperation in dismantling the cartel’s financial networks and stopping its illicit activities.