US EditionU.S. Blacklists Sprawling International Trafficking Organization
The U.S. Treasury froze assets and barred transactions of the Bhardwaj network, which trafficked thousands of migrants via complex routes and cartel-backed operations.
- On Thursday, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the Bhardwaj Human Smuggling Organization, its alleged ringleader Vikrant Bhardwaj, three accomplices, and 16 affiliated entities.
- In recent years, U.S. authorities have expanded sanctions tools originally for terrorism or narcotics to confront human smuggling, with prior actions including the June 2023 Hernandez Salas smuggling network and June 2025 CiBanco, Intercam banks, and Vector Casa de Bolsa designations.
- Investigators say the group used yachts, marinas, hostels, hotels, and corporate fronts across Mexico, India, and the UAE, allegedly supported by the Sinaloa Cartel.
- The sanctions freeze any U.S. property tied to the group and bar financial transactions, Treasury said, while Under Secretary John K. Hurley called the action disruptive to smuggling; officials coordinated with Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera, Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
- Mexican officials have challenged the U.S. evidence and Mexico's president Claudia Sheinbaum requested the Treasury to 'send proof,' while investigators named Jose German Valadez Flores, Jorge Alejandro Mendoza Villegas and Indu Rani as accused associates.
38 Articles
38 Articles
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned an organization that, it claims, operates from southern Mexico an alleged transnational migrant trafficking network and would have links to the Sinaloa Cartel, whose members and companies have also been sanctioned in recent months.The U.S. authorities indicated in a statement that the “Bhardwaj People Trafficking Organization (Bhardwaj HSO)”, which is based in Cancun, Quintana Roo, “has illegally introduce…
Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned an organization it says operates a transnational migrant smuggling network from southern Mexico and has ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, whose members and companies have also been sanctioned in recent months. U.S. authorities said in a statement that the “Bhardwaj Human Trafficking Organization (Bhardwaj HSO),” based in the resort city of Cancún, Quintana Roo stat…
US Freezes Assets of Mexican Crime Ring Trafficking Illegals Across ...
The U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned a criminal group based in Cancún, one of Mexico's main tourist destinations, from where it allegedly traffics undocumented migrants from various parts of the world…
By Mauricio Torres, CNN en Español On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned a criminal group based in Cancún, one of Mexico's main tourist centers, from where it allegedly engages in smuggling undocumented migrants from various parts of the world into U.S. territory. By a statement, the Department identified the group as Bhardwaj, whom it designated as a transnational criminal organization. The Department also sanctioned four individ…
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