Not surprisingly, the Mexican criminal groups included in the list are the main exporters of fentanyl to the United States (CDS and CJNG); the two cartels with the largest presence on the Texas border (CDG and CDN); and the cartel (LNFM) recently included in the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) list for manufacturing and shipping fentanyl across the Tamaulipas border.
The designation that surprised many was that of the United Cartels or Carteles Unidos, a criminal alliance that has its center of operations in the Tierra Caliente of Michoacán and includes among its ranks Los Viagras, Los Blancos de Troya, the Tepalcatepec Cartel, the Zicuirán Cartel, among other cells that once belonged to La Familia Michoacana and the Knights Templar.
The Crime That Caught the US’ Attention
On June 14, 2024, two members of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) were detained and beaten by alleged criminals after a protest that took place in the municipality of Paracho.
The case prompted the U.S. Embassy in Mexico to issue a Level 4 Alert for its workers to stay away from the region; meanwhile, the Association of Avocado Producers of Mexico (Apeam) and the U.S. Government reported that the import of the so-called green gold was suspended as of June 15.
“Cárteles Unidos made a fatal mistake by participating in the arrest of phytosanitary inspectors who were supervising the shipment of avocado shipments from Michoacán to the United States,” recalled journalist and security analyst David Saucedo, in an interview with Infobae Mexico.
Saucedo added that in addition to the extortion and protection charges committed by the United Cartels of Michoacán, some U.S. citizens have suffered threats and attacks from criminal groups.
One of these cases was the murder of Gloria Ambriz and Rafael Cardona, both US citizens who were murdered on December 11, 2024 when they traveled to Michoacán to visit their relatives, the municipal president of Angamacutiro.
“The incorporation of the United Cartels is due to the fact that they disrupted and affected the interests of the United States : the price of avocados, the arrest of inspectors, extortion, protectionist payments and attacks against American citizens living in Michoacán,” stressed David Saucedo.
