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Mexico Freezes Sinaloa Officials’ Accounts as U.S. Presses Global Crackdown on Cartel Financing

Financial pressure now leads the fight, highlighting Mexico’s demand for U.S. reciprocity on extraditions.

Overview

  • - Mexico’s financial intelligence unit blocked bank accounts Monday tied to 10 current and former Sinaloa officials named in late‑April U.S. indictments and extradition requests.
  • - President Claudia Sheinbaum said the freezes are preventive steps to protect the banking system and vowed not to shield anyone, while criticizing a lack of U.S. reciprocity on Mexico’s 269 extradition requests since 2018.
  • - Two accused ex-officials, Gerardo Mérida Sánchez and Enrique Díaz Vega, turned themselves in to U.S. authorities, and Mérida remains in custody in New York with a June 1 hearing scheduled.
  • - In Paris, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged allies to hit financing networks that support threats including the Sinaloa Cartel, signaling broader use of sanctions and bank scrutiny.
  • - In a separate diplomatic front, Mexico’s foreign ministry demanded Israel ensure consular access and humane treatment for Mexican nationals detained after a Gaza-bound flotilla was intercepted.