Five men charged with allegedly laundering money for Sinaloa Cartel

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (KESQ) - Five men accused of laundering money on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel were charged in a pair of grand jury indictments unsealed today in San Diego federal court.

The indictments were originally returned in 2022 against the defendants, all of whom remain at large and face drug trafficking and money laundering offenses, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Four of the five defendants were also sanctioned Monday by the Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control -- or OFAC -- for their alleged roles in supporting the cartel's drug trafficking activities.   

One of the men,  Salvador Diaz Rodriguez, was described by OFAC as a Mexicali-based enforcer who collected "taxes" on behalf of "a local criminal organization'' and was "known to kill those who do not pay the required amount."  

Diaz and co-defendant Israel Daniel Paez Vargas allegedly laundered money for the cartel, while Vargas additionally recruited people to work for co-defendant Alberto David Benguiat Jimenez, OFAC says. Benguiat's organization has allegedly laundered more than $50 million on behalf of the cartel and Jose Angel Rivera Zazueta, who OFAC describes as a fentanyl trafficker whose organization imports precursor chemicals from China to Mexico in order to manufacture fentanyl, MDMA, crystal methamphetamine, and ketamine.   

The U.S. Attorney's Office said in total, its money laundering investigations have resulted in charges against 51 defendants and major seizures of drugs and over $4 million.