The DEA estimates that the La Nueva Familia Michoacana cartel, with operational bases in the State of Mexico, Michoacán, and Guerrero, has trafficked over 36 metric tons of methamphetamine, 12 tons of heroin, and 12 tons of cocaine annually to the United States. This criminal group has ventured into human trafficking and the use of drones with explosives to attack both rivals and security forces, showing complete indifference to civilian life.
The State Department denounced that La Nueva Familia Michoacana has a history that includes kidnappings, murders, extortion, and armed attacks using technology ranging from assault rifles to improvised aerial bombs. This criminal structure facilitates the trafficking of drugs, weapons, and people, allowing them to infiltrate legal and financial systems, pointed out Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury, as part of the maximum pressure measures against transnational criminal groups.
In an international offensive against Mexican drug trafficking, the U.S. government offered rewards for information leading to the capture or conviction of Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga, alias "El Pez," and his brother, José Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, alias "El Fresa," leaders of La Nueva Familia Michoacana, now classified as a foreign terrorist organization. This is the first time in history that the United States has offered rewards against members of a cartel considered a terrorist group, reflecting growing concern over the role of Mexican cartels in the trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs into U.S. territory.
In addition to the rewards, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed financial sanctions on four members of the Hurtado Olascoaga family, including the leaders "Pez" and "Fresa," as well as Ubaldo and Adita Hurtado Olascoaga, siblings of the former, who played key logistical roles within the cartel. Ubaldo is involved in the command of hitmen, illegal extraction of uranium and mercury, as well as extortions, while Adita led money laundering operations and arms trafficking from the United States to Mexico for use against rival cartels, according to U.S. authorities.
