3 Mexican citizens sanctioned by US over alleged involvement in fentanyl production and trafficking

The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned three Mexican citizens Wednesday for alleged involvement in the production and trafficking of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl.

It was the second round of sanctions in as many months against leading fentanyl traffickers from the Sinaloa drug cartel.

The three men sanctioned all worked in the violent border city of Tijuana. They include one man known as “The Anthrax Monkey,” whose decades-long career includes breaking out of prison.

The three allegedly moved large amounts of synthetic opioid fentanyl into the United States. The sanctions block any assets the targets may have in the United States and prohibit U.S. citizens from having any dealings with them.

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The Treasury Department said two of the men, Alfonso Arzate Garcia and his brother, Rene Arzate Garcia, acted as “plaza bosses” for the Sinaloa Cartel in Tijuana. They remain at large.

The other is Rafael Guadalupe Felix Nuñez, “El Changuito Antrax,” or “The Anthrax Monkey.” He began his career as a hitman in the early 2000s and later joined a gang of hitman, all of whom adopted “Anthrax” as their last names.

Apprehended in 2014, he broke out of prison in 2017.

In July, the Treasury Department sanctioned 10 Mexican citizens, including a brother-in-law of former gang kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, for alleged involvement in the production and trafficking fentanyl.