(NewsNation) — The U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the sanction of a Cartel del Jalisco Nueva Generación leader in connection with a gender-based killing.
Four other members of Jalisco cartel have also been sanctioned. One of the commanders, Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, has been named the prime suspect in the murder of Mexican influencer Valeria Márquez, who was shot and killed in her salon in Zapopan, Mexico, during a live social media broadcast in May. Ruiz was allegedly Márquez’s romantic partner.
“[The CJNG] uses murder as a tactic to intimidate rivals, including sending messages to other cartels through the targeted killings of women,” U.S. Treasury officials said in a press release. “The vicious attack highlights the brutal prevalence of femicide, or the killing of women on account of their gender, in Mexico.”
According to Vision of Humanity, gender-based violence accounted for 24.2% of female homicides in Mexico in 2024.
CJNG’s founder, Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, or “El Mencho,” along with the other members, was targeted in the sanctions in connection with drug trafficking. The U.S. State Department has offered a $15 million reward for any information leading to Oseguera’s arrest or conviction.
Authorities did not specify what evidence they had linking Ruiz to Márquez’s murder.