Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, August 9, 2026 – A July snapshot of the U.S. Treasury sanctions list tied 51 records to Puerto Vallarta, placing the city third among Jalisco municipalities with names or organizations on the federal sanctions list.
The analysis published by NTR Guadalajara counted 31 organizations and 20 individuals with a Puerto Vallarta address as of July 23. Guadalajara led with 167 records, and Zapopan followed with 92.
The local count is cumulative, not a single new sanctions action. It also represents address-linked records rather than 51 separate raids, arrests or court judgments. NTR noted that some names and companies appear with addresses in more than one municipality, causing municipal totals to exceed Jalisco’s number of unique profiles.
That distinction matters in a city where property, construction, lodging, and tourism companies repeatedly appear in U.S. sanctions actions. Across Jalisco, NTR placed 72 of the state’s 192 listed organizations in real estate, construction, hotels, tourism, and entertainment, accounting for 37.5 percent of the state total.
An entry on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list carries a direct consequence to Americans living in Puerto Vallarta. OFAC states that all U.S. citizens and permanent residents must comply regardless of where they live. U.S. persons generally may not conduct transactions involving a listed person or organization. Property and interests in property that enter U.S. jurisdiction or the possession or control of a U.S. person must be frozen and reported to OFAC.
The restriction may reach beyond the names shown in a simple list search. Under OFAC’s 50 Percent Rule, a company is also blocked when one or more blocked people or entities own at least half of it, directly or indirectly and in the aggregate, even when the company is not separately named. OFAC also states that a U.S. person may not enter into a contract signed by a blocked individual acting on behalf of an otherwise unlisted company without authorization.
A similar name alone does not establish a valid match. OFAC instructs users to compare the full entry, including addresses, aliases, nationality, identification numbers, and birth details when available.
Puerto Vallarta’s total reflects several rounds of sanctions centered on local cartel finances and timeshare fraud. Treasury targeted eight Mexican companies in March 2023, then seven individuals and 19 additional companies one month later. A third action that November added three people and 13 companies tied to a network Treasury described as centered in Puerto Vallarta.
The actions continued with the August 2025 sanctions against four people and 13 companies, including real estate, travel, tour, accounting and automotive businesses based in or near the bay. In February 2026, Treasury named Kovay Gardens in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, as well as five individuals and 17 companies. Vallarta Daily reported that several names were linked to property and tourism operations around Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit.
Those actions explain why the local list extends well beyond people accused of holding leadership roles in the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación. The corporate entries include companies that Treasury described as real estate businesses, construction firms, travel agencies, tour operators, financial services firms, and resort operations. Inclusion reflects OFAC’s determination under U.S. sanctions authorities that the listed party met applicable designation criteria.
Timeshare fraud has been a repeated focus. Treasury said in August 2025 that CJNG had controlled such schemes in Puerto Vallarta and the surrounding area since about 2012. Callers posed as brokers, lawyers, sales representatives, or government officials and demanded advance fees and taxes tied to fictitious resales, rentals, or investments. Some victims were contacted again by people claiming they could recover the lost money after another payment.
The July 23 date also coincided with a separate nationwide action. Treasury added 39 individuals and 16 entities linked to CJNG across several states. Mexico’s Finance Ministry said its Financial Intelligence Unit placed those 55 subjects, plus eight related subjects, on Mexico’s own blocked-persons list and filed a complaint with the federal Attorney General’s Office. Those national figures are separate from NTR’s 51 address-linked records for Puerto Vallarta.
The Puerto Vallarta number is best read as a dated map of U.S. sanctions exposure tied to the municipality, not a count of newly closed businesses or recent arrests. The live OFAC sanctions service remains the controlling source as entries are added, changed, or removed.
