Woman suspected of ties to cartel has assets frozen

By Anna Cearley

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 20, 2007

TIJUANA – Authorities have blocked the U.S. assets of a Tijuana woman and those of businesses she runs or owns that are suspected of being part of an extensive money-laundering operation for a Mexican drug group.

In all, 42 people and companies in Mexico are alleged to be part of the financial network of Blanca Margarita Cazares Salazar, 53, of Sinaloa, Mexico. Their names appeared on a list that the U.S. Treasury Department published last week.

U.S. citizens and businesses are prohibited from doing business with anyone whose name is on the list.

The ring allegedly launders money for a drug group headed by Ismael Zambada, who is allied with Victor Emilio Cazares Salazar, a suspected trafficker who is Blanca Cazares' brother, according to the Treasury Department.