US Treasury sanctions Mexican logistics firms over fuel‑theft network

The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed Ahavat Logistics Solution and related entities on its sanctions list, identifying them as key nodes in a fuel‑theft (“huachicol”) network linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The company appeared in procurement records for the municipalities of Paraíso, Tabasco, and Salvatierra, Guanajuato, and its co‑owner Jomadi Logistics and Cargo had previously received $405 million in diesel import permits from Mexico’s energy ministry.

The OFAC announcement also targeted two individuals and 18 companies, describing how profits from illegal fuel sales fund cartel operations, political campaign payments, and money‑laundering schemes. The Treasury noted that a substantial share of Mexico’s fuel market—estimated at a quarter to a third—may involve illicit activity, with stolen crude smuggled into the United States and fuel from the U.S. illegally entered Mexico to evade taxes. Financial transfers are routed through the Mexican banking system and, at times, digital assets.

These sanctions aim to disrupt the financial channels supporting organized crime and curb the influence of illicit fuel revenues on Mexican politics and public contracts.