US Sanctions Cancún Firm in Human Trafficking Crackdown

Washington, D.C. — The United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned an organization on Thursday that it alleges operates a suspected transnational migrant smuggling network from southern Mexico with ties to the Sinaloa Cartel, whose members and businesses have also been sanctioned in recent months.

U.S. authorities stated in a release that the "Bhardwaj Human Smuggling Organization (Bhardwaj HSO)," which is based in the tourist city of Cancún in the state of Quintana Roo, "has illegally introduced thousands of immigrants from Europe, the Middle East, South America, and Asia into the United States."

Furthermore, Bhardwaj HSO is accused of being involved in "drug trafficking, bribery, and money laundering."

The leader of the organization was identified as Vikrant Bhardwaj who, along with his wife Indu Rani—both of Indian and Mexican nationality—allegedly operated alongside two other individuals and a conglomerate of 16 companies in the suspected migrant smuggling operation. Bhardwaj allegedly laundered money through his real estate, tourism, and energy businesses in Mexico, India, and the United Arab Emirates.

Bhardwaj and Rani were sanctioned along with Mexican businessman José Germán Valadez Flores, who is accused of allegedly bribing authorities, and Jorge Alejandro Moreno Villegas, a former Quintana Roo police officer, who allegedly provided migrant access to the Cancún International Airport since 2020.

As part of the sanctions, all assets of the designated individuals found in the United States will be blocked, as will any transactions or business dealings with them.

According to the investigation by U.S. authorities, the organization employed various methods to transport migrants to the United States, including by air and sea, and used the corridor of the Mexican cities Tapachula–Cancún–Mexicali to move people, charging thousands of dollars per migrant.

According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the network received operational support from the Sinaloa Cartel, which was designated earlier this year by Washington as a "terrorist organization" along with five other Mexican cartels.

"The Bhardwaj network uses its own yachts and ports to transport undocumented migrants to Mexico. After their arrival in Cancún, the Bhardwaj network facilitates lodging for migrants in hostels and hotels before coordinating with associates to transport the migrants to the border between the United States and Mexico," the document states.

The Under Secretary of the Treasury, John K. Hurley, indicated that the operation was conducted in collaboration with "our partners in law enforcement agencies," and that it allowed for the dismantling of "this network's ability to illegally introduce migrants into the United States."

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned eight individuals and 12 companies allegedly linked to a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel run by the sons of that organization's convicted former leader, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, known as "Los Chapitos."