Mexican federal police have seized one of Jalisco’s most feted hotels after it was singled out by the U.S. Treasury for its connections to a criminal cartel.
According to a press release from the federal Attorney General’s Office (PGR), the Hotelito Desconocido served as a meeting place for “members of a group with criminal activities in the region.”
The PGR seizure came on the same day the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated 15 Mexican businesses and six individuals as “Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers” pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). “These entities and individuals provided financial support and services for the Los Cuinis Drug Trafficking Organization and its leader, Abigael Gonzalez Valencia, who were designated earlier this year for their significant roles in international narcotics trafficking,” a U.S. Treasury statement said.
Under U.S. law, any assets these entities and individuals may have under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen, and American citizens are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
The U.S. Treasury described Hotel Desconocido as “a boutique hotel located in Tomatlan, Jalisco that markets itself to wealthy vacationers seeking seclusion in a pristine environment.”
The hotel opened in the late 1990s and earned widespread fame for its commitment to the environment, luxury installations and friendly service.
The hotel shut its doors for an apparent revamp in April of this year.
Other businesses designated by U.S. authorities included Ahome Real Estate, and Bric Inmobiliaria, real estate firms based in Guadalajara and Zapopan; as well as two shopping centers: Plaza Los Tules in Zapopan and Xaman Ha Center in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo.
Individuals designated because of their links to Los Cuinis or its leader were: Jeniffer Beaney Camacho Cazares, Diana Maria Sanchez Carlon, Silvia Romina Sanchez Carlon, Maria Elena Marquez Gallegos, Wendy Dalaithy Amaral Arevalo, and Fernando Torres Gonzalez.
Gonzalez Valencia is the brother-in-law of Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (“El Mencho”), the presumed leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). In March 2014, both men were indicted by a grand jury in the District of Columbia on several charges, including being the principal leaders of a “Continuing Criminal Enterprise.” Gonzalez Valencia was captured in February 2015, but Oseguera Cervantes remains a fugitive.
Since June 2000, more than 1,700 entities and individuals have been targeted under the Kingpin Act for their role in international narcotics trafficking.