US imposes new penalties related to drug cartel

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department is imposed financial penalties against seven people and 10 businesses accused of having ties to Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa (sihn-uh-LOH'-uh) drug cartel.

The Office of Foreign Asset Control says it's penalizing Hugo Cuellar Hurtado and five relatives for their alleged support of the cartel.

Guzman was one of the world's most wanted traffickers when he was captured early Saturday in Mexico.

The government says Cuellar has been a drug trafficker for decades and worked for Colombia's infamous Medellin cartel before supplying Guzman's gang with cocaine in the late 1990s.

The U.S. also is punishing Cuellar's asset manager in Colombia, four companies in Mexico and six in Colombia.

Guzman and other Sinaloa bosses already were under sanctions through the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act.

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