⏱ 2 min read
Rodrigo Alarcon Palomares, a Mexican national and associate of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, has been indicted in Colorado for laundering drug proceeds through cryptocurrency. The indictment, handed down by a federal grand jury, alleges that Alarcon Palomares knowingly conducted financial transactions involving the conversion of drug proceeds into cryptocurrency, specifically in connection with the cartel’s fentanyl trafficking activities. The action is part of a larger effort to disrupt the Sinaloa Cartel’s operations and follows a designation by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of two distinct networks linked to the cartel.
The OFAC designation means that Alarcon Palomares’ property and financial interests under U.S. jurisdiction are blocked from use or transfer. The action was taken in coordination with the Government of Mexico’s financial intelligence unit, the Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), and is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.
The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. The initiative directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations.
The indictment of Alarcon Palomares and the OFAC designation are significant steps in the ongoing effort to disrupt the Sinaloa Cartel’s operations and stem the flow of fentanyl into the United States. The case is a testament to the power of international cooperation and the commitment of law enforcement agencies to combating organized crime.
📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Organized Crime
- Defendant: Colorado
- Location: CO
- Source: DOJ Press Release
