Things are getting very interesting as the clock ticks toward the end of the USMCA trade agreement.
Almost no one is watching the USMCA element because it quietly exists only in the background of events. However, pay close attention to the ancillary stories because they will eventually merge with the end of the USMCA and two bilateral trade agreements between the U.S-Canada and the U.S. and Mexico later this year.
NATO funding and Canadian economic independence, and by extension the EU and China, comes into the northern agreement. Border security and Mexican economic independence, and by extension immigration and China, comes into the southern agreement. The strength of MAGAnomic policy flows directly through both.
In the quiet sphere, a few days ago Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, a key player in the trade program, announced sanctions against three Mexican financial organizations that underline the influence of the Mexican cartels and the Mexican government. [Treasury Announcement Here]
“The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued orders identifying three Mexico-based financial institutions—CIBanco S.A., Institution de Banca Multiple (CIBanco) [ORDER HERE], Intercam Banco S.A., Institución de Banca Multiple (Intercam) [ORDER HERE], and Vector Casa de Bolsa, S.A. de C.V. (Vector) [ORDER HERE]—as being of primary money laundering concern in connection with illicit opioid trafficking, and prohibit, respectively, certain transmittals of funds involving CIBanco, Intercam, and Vector. These orders are the first actions by FinCEN pursuant to the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act, which provide Treasury with additional authorities to target money laundering associated with the trafficking of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, including by cartels”. (more)
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is furious. “The Treasury Department hasn’t provided a single piece of evidence to show that any money laundering was taking place,” she said. “We aren’t going to cover for anyone, there isn’t impunity here. They have to be able to demonstrate that there was actually money laundering, not with words, but with strong evidence.”
Secretary Scott Bessent has provided all of the evidence above in the three orders. However, this U.S. Treasury action is going to cause a massive disruption to the financial system used by Mexican officials to remain in power. This is the key point.
Remember, the Customs and Border Patrol enforcement action in Los Angeles was not about deporting illegal aliens. The origination of the chaos in Los Angeles centered around the ‘customs” aspect of the CBP as they targeted local businesses that were operating as money laundering outfits for drug and human trafficking into the USA.
Again, for emphasis, the subsequent riots that took place in Los Angeles were NOT originated by deportation operations involving ICE; they originated from CBP and FBI operations involving Mexican money laundering. The ICE operations came as an outcome of encounters with illegal aliens who were working inside the Los Angeles businesses that were under investigation.
[…] Sheinbaum said they were notified by American officials of the accusations ahead of the Wednesday announcement, and that Mexican financial regulators carried out their own investigations into the institutions.
They found “administrative infractions,” she said, but nothing close to the accusations being levied by Treasury officials.
In the orders blocking transactions between the three institutions and American banks, the Trump administration alleged that the three companies facilitated millions of dollars in transfers with Chinese companies, which it said were used to buy chemicals to produce fentanyl. The Treasury Department said the institutions had facilitated transfers to U.S. banks, but officials would not name which U.S. institutions were implicated nor provide more details.
Sheinbaum countered that their own investigation simply showed that institutions had strong relationships with Chinese clients and banks, which she said was more of an indicator that the two countries share a robust trade relationship. (more)
But wait, it gets better…
As CPB and FBI make moves on the network, not only does Treasury come into play with a follow-up of blocking financial transactions for the money launderers, Secretary of State Marco Rubio comes in to target anyone associated with the process.
[Tweet Link – Executive Order 14059 LINK]
BESSENT: …”Combating drug cartels and stopping the flow of deadly drugs into the United States is one of the Trump Administration’s highest priorities. In January 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order creating a process by which certain cartels and other organizations would be designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and/or Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs). Accordingly, in February, the U.S. Departments of the Treasury and State designated eight organizations, including six major Mexico-based drug cartels, as FTOs and SDGTs, including the CJNG, Gulf Cartel, and Sinaloa Cartel. Today’s actions complement these designations, as a further step to deny individuals and entities associated with cartels access to the U.S. financial system.” (more)
Can you see how this is coming together.
The cartels are designated terrorist organizations. The Chinese supply chains are designated as ‘global terrorists.’ The countries that facilitate these transactions are Mexico (primary) and Canada (secondary). This coordinated multi-agency operation directly targeting the heart of the issue… follow the money… ends up as booster fuel for the elimination of the USMCA.
The politicians, bankers, brokers and families of the bankers, brokers and close persons who are identified in the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCen) are then subject to visa removals, restrictions and other punitive mechanisms available to the State Dept. This could include President Claudia Sheinbaum herself, if identified as a co-conspirator.
All of this is happening simultaneous to massive drops in the amount of remittances from the USA to Mexico as illegal aliens are trying to avoid any documented paper trail of their personage inside the United States. Tens of billions are being lost.
China is being hit. The Mexican cartels are being hit. The Mexican government is being hit. The Mexican financial system is being hit. Mexican politicians are being hit. Mexican illegal aliens inside the USA are being hit. Mexican money launderers are being hit…. and by extension all of those who benefit from the funding therein, including the DNC, CIA and corrupt U.S. politicians are at risk.
Follow the money. It’s always about the economics of the thing…
Yeah, President Claudia Sheinbaum is going bananas.
