The U.S. last week sanctioned 15 members of the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel and six Mexican businesses for their involvement in a “Black Market Peso Exchange” scheme to launder millions in illegal fentanyl proceeds for the cartel. The designations target cellphone businesses and their owners, fentanyl suppliers, money launderers, food service companies and clothing retailers, a former Mexican police officer and more.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned Wendy Carolina Morales Urbina, Nicaragua’s attorney general, for her ties to corruption as part of President Daniel Ortega’s government. OFAC said she has helped the government “steal” real property from independent media outlets, international organizations and political prisoners, under law “explicitly to suppress freedom of association.” Morales Urbina does this by giving existing property deeds to new owners declaring properties as “now being made for public use,” the agency said.

The U.S. sanctioned two Russian companies and their leaders for helping the country’s government carry out a “foreign malign influence campaign,” including by impersonating government organizations and European media outlets.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned various people and companies that are part of procurement networks in Iran, Turkey, Oman and Germany that have supported Iran’s ballistic missile, nuclear and defense programs. OFAC said the networks have helped ship carbon fiber, epoxy resins and other “missile-applicable goods” for Iran’s military and other entities in the country’s defense industrial base.

A senior State Department official called rising weapons shipments between Russia and North Korea “deeply concerning,” saying the U.S. plans to continue using a combination of sanctions and diplomacy to try to disrupt trade between the two countries.

A new report this week from the Congressional Research Service outlines U.S. sanctions risks stemming from the global oil tanker market, including from tankers moving sanctioned oil from Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week sanctioned Marshall Islands-registered shipping company Vishnu Inc. and its ship, the Lady Sofia, for their involvement in illegally shipping Iranian commodities to China. OFAC said the vessel recently transferred cargo while at sea to another sanctioned ship, the Mehle, which is currently traveling to China with the Iranian goods.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Diego Macedo Goncalves do Carmo, a money launderer for the “most notorious” crime group in Brazil. OFAC said Goncalves has laundered hundreds of millions of dollars for Brazil-based Primeiro Comando da Capital, which the agency designated in 2021.

The U.S. on March 14 announced another set of sanctions against Israeli nationals for violence, or threats of violence, against Palestinians in the West Bank. The designations follow President Joe Biden's February executive order authorizing sanctions against people responsible for an increase in violence in the region (see 2402010053).

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on March 13 sanctioned three people in the Bosnian Serb Republic for helping Serb Republic President Milorad Dodik undermine the “peace and stability” of Bosnia and Herzegovina. OFAC said the three people “facilitated Dodik’s efforts to undermine” the Dayton Peace Agreement, the 1995 accords that ended the yearslong Bosnian War, and the “authority” of the Bosnian Constitutional Court.