Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – In a decisive move against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the United States Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on nine individuals connected to the Bonques Brothers, key collaborators of the criminal organization operating in the Mexican state of Nayarit. Announced on Tuesday, the sanctions aim to cripple the financial operations of this network, freezing their banking assets and barring their access to the international financial system. The action is part of Washington’s broader strategy to combat fentanyl trafficking from Mexico.
Key Figures and Connections
The sanctions primarily target Roberto Castellanos Meza, known as “Beto Bonques,” who is identified as the leader of the Bonques Brothers network. Also sanctioned are his brothers Iván Atzayácatl (Axa Bonques), Giovanni (Vanni Bonques), and Juan Carlos Castañeda Meza (Calocho). U.S. authorities describe the Bonques Brothers as one of the most influential families involved in the heroin and synthetic drug trade in western Mexico. Their criminal activities reportedly began in the 1990s and include close ties to Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, alias “El Mencho,” the leader of the CJNG, and Audiás Flores Silva, “El Jardinero,” a prominent CJNG commander in Nayarit.
Operating primarily out of Xalisco, Nayarit, the Bonques Brothers have expanded their criminal portfolio beyond heroin to include cocaine and synthetic drugs. U.S. authorities revealed that Castellanos Meza maintains direct links to drug suppliers in Colombia and uses small planes and boats to smuggle narcotics into Mexico and beyond. Castellanos Meza also faces a federal case in California for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, filed just one day before the sanctions were announced.
Historical Encounters with Law Enforcement
The Bonques Brothers have been on law enforcement radar for over a decade. In 2007, Mexican authorities raided a clandestine drug lab in Xalisco, leading to the seizure of 10 kilograms of heroin, equating to 200,000 doses. During the operation, Iván Atzayácatl was arrested while fleeing, and Juan Carlos was hospitalized after a shootout.
Additional Sanctioned Individuals
The crackdown also includes José Adrián Castillo, the CJNG’s plaza boss in Tepic, Nayarit’s capital. Castillo is accused of orchestrating a drug trafficking network that exports narcotics to California, Colorado, and Nevada. His associate, Luis Alonso Navarro, was sanctioned for money laundering, human trafficking, and fentanyl trafficking. Navarro faces 108 criminal charges in Colorado, including the importation of three kilograms of fentanyl last year. His wife, Erandiny Jazmin Arias, is also on the blacklist for her role in laundering drug money.
Navarro’s network reportedly collaborated with a couple in Sonora—Araceli Castillo and José Sinué Castro—who organized fentanyl shipments for Navarro’s distribution chain, which ultimately funneled drugs into the United States. Inclusion on the OFAC blacklist freezes all financial assets, prohibits transactions with U.S. entities, and blocks access to properties linked to those sanctioned.
Implications of the Sanctions
The U.S. Treasury Department emphasized that the sanctioned individuals were instrumental in the CJNG’s role during the early stages of the U.S. opioid crisis, which has since evolved into the ongoing fentanyl epidemic. The CJNG has emerged as one of the most powerful and violent drug cartels in the world. Its leader, Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, remains at large, with the DEA offering a $10 million reward for information leading to his capture. His son, Rubén Oseguera González, known as “El Menchito,” was convicted in September for drug trafficking and weapons-related charges in Washington, D.C.
Collaboration with Mexico
In its statement, the Treasury Department reaffirmed its commitment to working closely with Mexican authorities to dismantle criminal networks like the CJNG. “In close collaboration with our allies in the Mexican Government, we will use all the tools to dismantle these criminal schemes and safeguard our communities,” the statement read.
The latest actions underscore the U.S. government’s focus on disrupting the financial operations of Mexican drug cartels as a cornerstone of its strategy to combat the flow of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs fueling the opioid crisis. The sanctions deliver a significant blow to the CJNG’s allies in Nayarit, marking another step in the ongoing effort to dismantle one of the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations.
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - In a decisive move against the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), the United States Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on nine individuals connected to the Bonques Brothers, key collaborators of the criminal organization operating in the Mexican state of Nayarit. Announced on Tuesday, the sanctions aim to cripple the financial operations of this network, freezing their banking assets and barring their access to the international financial system. The action is part of Washington’s broader strategy to combat fentanyl trafficking from Mexico.
