Zam-Zam
Senator
Fighting evil update:
Washington — The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sweeping sanctions on members of an alleged Mexico-based human smuggling network that it says trafficked people from four continents using yachts, hotels and cartel connections, a move officials say underscores the Trump administration's intensifying strategy to treat migrant trafficking schemes as a direct threat to national security.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted the Bhardwaj Human Smuggling Organization, its alleged ringleader Vikrant Bhardwaj plus three accomplices and 16 affiliated entities on Thursday. The sanctions will freeze any U.S. property or interests tied to the sprawling group and bar U.S. persons from conducting financial transactions with the alleged criminal organization.
According to Treasury officials, the Bhardwaj HSO constructed a "sophisticated" smuggling pipeline that tapped its own collection of yachts and marinas, as well as hostels, hotels and other front operations across Mexico, India and the United Arab Emirates.
Thousands of migrants from Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia — including some from countries deemed national security risks — were allegedly flown or sailed into Mexico, then routed north toward the U.S. border over land, a dangerous passage dubbed the "Tapachula-Cancun-Mexicali corridor."
Officials allege the group's services cost migrants thousands of dollars apiece, and the group solicited operational support from individuals employed by the notorious Sinaloa Cartel.
Investigators identified a web of corporate fronts allegedly controlled or used by the group, spanning so-called tourism companies in Mexico to real estate and hospitality firms in India and the UAE, as well as a Mexican supermarket to hide illicit revenue streams.
The Treasury sanctioned three other associates: Jose German Valadez Flores and Jorge Alejandro Mendoza Villegas are accused of facilitating the trafficking ring by bribing officials at airports and ports of entry, while a third, Indu Rani, is identified as Bhardwaj's wife and the lead on logistical operations.
Complete text: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/treasury-sanctions-alleged-human-smuggling-network-mexico-india-uae/
Progress.
Washington — The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sweeping sanctions on members of an alleged Mexico-based human smuggling network that it says trafficked people from four continents using yachts, hotels and cartel connections, a move officials say underscores the Trump administration's intensifying strategy to treat migrant trafficking schemes as a direct threat to national security.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted the Bhardwaj Human Smuggling Organization, its alleged ringleader Vikrant Bhardwaj plus three accomplices and 16 affiliated entities on Thursday. The sanctions will freeze any U.S. property or interests tied to the sprawling group and bar U.S. persons from conducting financial transactions with the alleged criminal organization.
According to Treasury officials, the Bhardwaj HSO constructed a "sophisticated" smuggling pipeline that tapped its own collection of yachts and marinas, as well as hostels, hotels and other front operations across Mexico, India and the United Arab Emirates.
Thousands of migrants from Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia — including some from countries deemed national security risks — were allegedly flown or sailed into Mexico, then routed north toward the U.S. border over land, a dangerous passage dubbed the "Tapachula-Cancun-Mexicali corridor."
Officials allege the group's services cost migrants thousands of dollars apiece, and the group solicited operational support from individuals employed by the notorious Sinaloa Cartel.
Investigators identified a web of corporate fronts allegedly controlled or used by the group, spanning so-called tourism companies in Mexico to real estate and hospitality firms in India and the UAE, as well as a Mexican supermarket to hide illicit revenue streams.
The Treasury sanctioned three other associates: Jose German Valadez Flores and Jorge Alejandro Mendoza Villegas are accused of facilitating the trafficking ring by bribing officials at airports and ports of entry, while a third, Indu Rani, is identified as Bhardwaj's wife and the lead on logistical operations.
Complete text: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/treasury-sanctions-alleged-human-smuggling-network-mexico-india-uae/
Progress.
