The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel (CSRL) and its alleged leader, José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, “El Marro,” for obtaining illicit funds thru the theft of fuel and oil in the state of Guanajuato.
According to the official statement, this criminal organization’s fuel theft activities have fueled a cross-border energy black market, affecting both Mexico and U.S. oil companies, as well as triggering an escalation of violence over control of the business with the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
Huachicol, one of the Mexican cartels’ biggest sources of income
According to OFAC, fuel theft, including the illegal trafficking of crude oil, has become the most significant non-drug-related source of revenue for Mexican cartels.
The Treasury Department explained that huachicoleros employ various methods to steal hydrocarbons from Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex), including:
- Bribes to corrupt Pemex employes
- Illegal installation of clandestine taps on pipelines
- Direct theft at refineries
- Assaults on storage tanks
- Threats against personnel of the State-owned productive enterprise
These practices, the agency noted, have cost the Mexican government millions of dollars and have financially strengthened criminal organizations.
Cross-border energy black market affecting the US and Mexico
OFAC detailed that the crude oil and gas stolen by the CSRL are traded on the black energy market in Mexico, the United States, and Central America.
To bring the hydrocarbon into U.S. territory, the organization uses Mexican intermediaries who transport the product with false labels, as if it were oil waste or other hazardous materials, in order to:
- Evading taxes
- Evading energy regulations
- To smuggle fuel
In the United States, importers located near the border with Mexico receive shipments in collusion, sell them at lower prices, and send significant profits to the cartels in Mexico, harming legitimate oil and natural gas companies.
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OFAC sanctions: Frozen assets and financial blockade
As part of the sanctions, OFAC froze all assets of the CSRL and José Antonio Yépez Ortiz located in the United States. Furthermore, any person or entity in the United States is prohibited from maintaining financial or commercial relationships with the sanctioned individuals.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the U.S. government will intensify its offensive against organized crime financing.
«No matter where or how the cartels generate and launder money, we will find them and stop them», he declared.
Who is the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel?
The Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel emerged around 2014 and takes its name from the community of the same name in Guanajuato, where its first members originated.
The organization has primarily engaged in fuel and oil theft, an activity that has generated tensions and armed clashes with the CJNG, especially in the so-called “Bermuda Triangle,” a strategic area with Pemex refineries and pipelines.
In October 2017, both groups engaged in clashes over control of the huachicol in this key region.
El Marro and his criminal record
José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, “El Marro,” was arrested in 2020 in Mexico and is currently serving a 60-year prison sentence for kidnapping. Additionally, he faces charges for:
- Organized crime
- Money laundering
- Hydrocarbon theft
- Attempted homicide
- Other federal crimes
In 2022, he was formally sentenced, although U.S. authorities claim he continues to run the cartel from prison, sending instructions thru lawyers and family members.
Criminal alliances and the expansion of the CSRL
The Treasury statement notes that, in its fight against the CJNG, the CSRL has allied with the Gulf Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, both designated by the United States as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).
Likewise, it is presumed that the cartel recruited former Colombian soldiers and paramilitaries to strengthen its operational capacity in Guanajuato.
In addition to huachicol, the CSRL has also been involved in drug trafficking, including the trafficking of heroin into the United States.
