United States – A US Treasury Department official said that a high-ranking representative of the Treasury Department is going to Colombia and Mexico this week, through which Washington wants to fight money laundering and the smuggling of fentanyl to the country.
As Reuters noted earlier, the Acting Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control, Lisa Palluconi, travels as the United States has been striving to combat the U.S. fentanyl crisis; in particular, it has attempted to do so with the use of sanctions, as reported by Reuters.
Focus on the Fentanyl Crisis in Mexico
The official said Palluconi’s meetings in Mexico City would include the discussion of the deadly narcotic that is smuggled into the United States and frequently across the easily controllable border of the United States and Mexico from where it can be easily synthesized from chemicals purchased in China.
Fentanyl-related deaths have increased to be one of the most common fatal causes for people between the ages of 18 and 45, and over 107,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in the year 2023.
The Treasury official indicated that the department works hand in hand with the Mexican government on the use of sanctions, including on an action that was taken recently that targeted a network it claimed was generating millions of dollars for Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion, a group it alleged is accountable for a large percentage of fentanyl and other drugs that is smuggled to the US, as reported by Reuters.
The event is themed on the promotion of the United States and Mexican banking systems, security, economy, and sanctions compliance, and Palluconi will attend it.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
During this visit, Palluconi will deliver a speech at the second United States-Colombia Joint Summit on Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance, the official said, noting that Washington and Bogota have planned many sanctions measures against large drug lords, cartels, and their structures since the 1990s.