The U.S. Department of the Treasury has taken action against two networks connected to the Sinaloa Cartel, accusing them of using digital currencies to handle funds from fentanyl trafficking. This move adds six Ethereum wallet addresses to the sanctions list, with one USDT-linked wallet reactivating in April after over a year of dormancy.
According to the Treasury, the sanctions were implemented through a joint operation involving the Homeland Security Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the administration remains committed to disrupting cartel financial operations tied to fentanyl, vowing to prevent narco-terrorists from exploiting financial systems to funnel drug profits into the U.S.
The sanctions specifically name Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles, accused of converting cash to cryptocurrency for the cartel, and Jesus Alonso Aispuro Felix, an associate involved in blockchain-based transfers of drug proceeds. Five of the six Ethereum addresses are linked to Ojeda Aviles.
Blockchain data shows limited recent activity among the listed wallets. Five addresses had been inactive for years, while one address ending in “e27cb” processed $894 in Tether’s USDT stablecoin on April 27 after more than a year without transactions.
The Treasury imposed these sanctions under two executive orders targeting illicit drug production and organizations classified as terrorists or terrorism supporters. It describes the Sinaloa Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization responsible for massive fentanyl inflows into the U.S., contributing to tens of thousands of annual deaths.
Previous actions by U.S. agencies have targeted cartel-linked crypto operations. A July 2025 Justice Department report noted DEA seizures of over $10 million in crypto assets tied to the Sinaloa Cartel. In Latin America, Brazilian authorities have also cracked down on crime groups using digital assets. In August 2024, São Paulo civil police dismantled a money laundering operation linked to the PCC gang, involving a cryptocurrency exchange handling nearly 500 million Brazilian reais (about $88.6 million). Thirteen individuals were arrested, and 55 million reais in checks were seized.
Earlier Brazilian investigations in June 2023 raided six exchanges accused of laundering roughly $380 million. Another 2024 operation dismantled a $2.6 billion crypto laundering network. Despite these cases, crypto adoption in Brazil grew, with trading volumes rising 30% in 2024 as regulators advanced digital asset oversight.