April 21 (UPI) — The State Department has imposed visa restrictions on 75 people with close ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, as the Trump administration tightens its aggressive anti-drug-smuggling crackdown.
The individuals barred from entry to the United States on Monday weren’t identified by the State Department, which said they were either family members or close personal or business associates of Sinaloa Cartel members who have been sanctioned under Executive Order 14059, Imposing Sanctions on Foreign Persons Involved in the Global Illicit Drug Trade.
More than 325 people have been sanctioned under the Biden-era executive order, including several members of the Sinaloa Cartel, according to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
“Today’s actions underscore the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting the American people from the Sinaloa Cartel, a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
“Imposing visa restrictions on drug traffickers, their family members and close personal and business associates will not only prevent their entry into our nation, but also serve as a deterrent to continued illicit activities.”
President Donald Trump has led an aggressive anti-narcotics campaign during his second term. He has slapped sanctions on Canada and China on allegations of failing to curb drug smuggling from their countries, issued sanctions and pursued narcotics-related extraditions and prosecutions.
Among Trump’s most notable moves was designating 10 drug gangs and cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel in February 2025, as terrorist organizations, which his administration has used to justify military strikes against suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
In September, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced the arrest of 617 people in an operation aimed at dismantling the cartel.
According to the U.S. Treasury, more than 600 individuals and companies linked to the infamous Mexican cartel have been sanctioned over the years under the executive order and the Foreign Narcotic Kingpin Designation Act of 2000.
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