(NewsNation) — U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced Thursday new sanctions against members of a Mexican drug cartel accused of trafficking fentanyl, cocaine, meth and migrants through the U.S.-Mexico border.
Included in the sanctions are eight members of the La Nueva Familia Michoacana drug cartel, a notoriously violent group that wars for territorial control with a slate of other Mexican cartels.
During the announcement to promote the Biden administration’s efforts to quell the import of illegal drugs, Yellen also issued an advisory to banks to help them identify and report suspicious transactions related to the sale and purchase of chemicals and equipment used to manufacture fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.
“Combatting the trafficking of fentanyl is a significant challenge,” Yellen said in a speech at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building in Atlanta. “It will not be solved overnight. But let me be clear: The President and I will do everything we can to combat this crisis.”
La Nueva Familia Michoacana is known for manufacturing and distributing drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine. The group is among those that have rapidly pushed into the increasingly lucrative migrant smuggling industry amid a historic wave of migration to the U.S.
In 2022, the Biden administration sanctioned leaders of the cartel, known as the Hurtado brothers, for manufacturing “rainbow” fentanyl pills, which the Treasury Department said was “part of a deliberate effort to drive addiction amongst kids.”
Yellen’s trip comes after President Joe Biden signed into law the FEND off Fentanyl Act as part of the supplemental spending package signed in April, which, among other things, declares that the international trafficking of fentanyl is a national emergency.
Fentanyl, a powerful opioid, is the deadliest drug in the U.S. today. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that drug overdose deaths in the U.S. have increased more than sevenfold from 2015 to 2021.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.