United States authorities have resorted not only to long prison sentences, but also to multimillion-dollar economic sanctions against some of the main leaders of Mexican drug trafficking.

These fines seek to affect the profits obtained by criminal organizations dedicated to drug trafficking and other financial crimes.

Among the most recent cases is that of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada. The US Prosecutor's Office requested a fine of 15 billion dollars as part of the sentence against him, an amount that would exceed any economic sanction previously imposed on a Mexican kingpin, if approved by the court.

Another relevant case is that of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who was sentenced in 2019 by a federal court in New York.

In addition to the life sentence, Judge Brian Cogan imposed a fine of $12.6 million on him, one of the highest financial penalties issued against a Mexican drug trafficker.

Rubén Oseguera González, alias “El Menchito”, was another drug trafficker who was imposed a multimillion-dollar penalty.

The fine for the son of “El Mencho” was more than 6,000 million dollars, a fortune accumulated during his time in the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel, where he became one of the most important men of said criminal organization.

The list also includes Alfredo Beltrán Leyva, alias “El Mochomo,” who was convicted in the United States for crimes related to international drug trafficking.

As part of his sentence, he received a fine of $529 million, reflecting the authorities' strategy to weaken the financial structures of criminal organizations.

The economic sanctions are part of a judicial policy that seeks to recover part of the illicit profits generated by drug trafficking, in addition to imposing prison sentences.

In several proceedings, prosecutors argue that the amounts established correspond to the benefits that the defendants would have obtained through trafficking cocaine, heroin, methamphetamines and other drugs into United States territory.