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What’s New This Week

Good morning, this week, the fight against organized crime took a financial turn. The U.S. Treasury cracked down on Mexican banks tied to cartel money—forcing action from regulators in Mexico and spotlighting the real cost of letting illicit finance go unchecked. On both sides of the border, energy and water are emerging as the deciding factors for investment, growth, and long-term security. And cartels are no longer just trafficking drugs—they’re hacking governments, buying influence, and reshaping power.

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Trade Winds

Follow the Money: How U.S. Pressure on Mexican Banks Is Cleaning Up Trade and Crime

When the U.S. Treasury announced sanctions against three Mexican financial institutions tied to cartel operations, it wasn’t just making a statement. It was drawing a line in the sand. CIBanco, Intercam, and Vector Casa de Bolsa were named as primary money laundering concerns, accused of helping move the profits of the fentanyl trade through the formal financial system. Within days, Mexican regulators stepped in to take control, halting a potential run on deposits and trying to contain the fallout.

For years, we have said that if we want to stop the cartels, we have to follow the money. Drug empires don’t survive on violence alone. They rely on laundering systems, corrupted institutions, and weak enforcement to keep their profits clean. And those profits flow through legitimate channels, destabilizing everything from border communities to financial markets.

What we are seeing now is a shift. This intervention wasn’t led by Mexico acting on its own. It was triggered by direct U.S. action. American authorities are stepping in when Mexican institutions won’t or can’t. That is not a bad thing. It is a recognition that the health of our financial systems and the safety of our trade corridors are deeply intertwined.

At first glance, the takeover of three banks may seem like a blow to investor confidence. But the opposite is true. When dirty money is removed from the system, trust increases. The thousands of companies operating across the U.S.-Mexico border, from small logistics firms to multinationals in the manufacturing space, depend on financial integrity. They need to know that their transactions are not being manipulated, intercepted, or entangled in criminal activity. Cleaning house may cause short-term discomfort, but it is an investment in long-term stability.

This is not just about fentanyl. The same banking infrastructure that was abused by traffickers is also used by arms smugglers, human traffickers, and other organized crime networks that threaten both countries. By rooting out the financial enablers, we disrupt entire ecosystems of illicit trade. We also create space for legal commerce to grow. Safer, cleaner financial systems attract more capital, more trade, and more cross-border collaboration.

For Arizona and the broader Southwest, the implications are direct. Legitimate cross-border commerce fuels job growth, logistics operations, and manufacturing expansion. But it has to be protected. If the border becomes a haven for criminal finance, investors hesitate. If the ports of entry are compromised by corruption, supply chains are delayed. If institutions are captured by cartels, people on both sides of the border suffer.

This week’s events show that the U.S. is no longer waiting for change. It is forcing it. And Mexico, under pressure, is responding. That may not be ideal diplomacy, but it is effective. In this case, enforcement is creating opportunity.

It is time to stop seeing trade and security as separate issues. They are two sides of the same coin. You cannot promote nearshoring, investment, or regional economic growth without cracking down on the criminal networks that exploit the same infrastructure. You cannot build long-term partnerships without financial transparency and rule of law.

This is what “following the money” looks like. And it is exactly what the U.S.-Mexico relationship needs if we are serious about building a safer, more prosperous North America.

Power Move

The Cartel Playbook Is Evolving—and So Is the U.S. Response

The old image of cartels—men with guns and bags of cash—is no longer the full story. Today’s criminal networks operate more like multinational enterprises. They recruit coders. They study border infrastructure. They buy politicians. And as a recent investigation revealed, they even embed hackers inside the Mexican government to wipe clean criminal records and manipulate official systems.

One hacker, working for the Sinaloa cartel, infiltrated Mexico’s justice ministry to delete arrest warrants and erase investigations. His salary was reportedly paid in bitcoin. This is not random corruption. It is systematic. It is designed. And it is powerful.

We are seeing a level of coordination that rivals state actors. Cartels are no longer just trafficking drugs—they are manipulating elections, financing campaigns, and operating through shell companies and financial institutions that touch every corner of our supply chains.

This brings us back to the financial enforcement actions highlighted in this week’s Trade Winds section. The U.S. Treasury’s move to sanction and expose three Mexican banks accused of laundering cartel money was not just a financial intervention—it was a counterstrike. When you follow the money, you uncover the machinery behind the violence.

But money isn’t the only lever cartels pull. They also use people—specifically people in power. Governors. Mayors. Police chiefs. Prosecutors. And the U.S. government has taken notice. The Trump administration has started quietly revoking visas and green cards for officials it suspects of aiding or abetting criminal networks. While some decry this as aggressive, others see it as overdue. It’s not just drug mules being targeted anymore—it’s the people who protect and enable them.

This is a new era of enforcement, and it’s redefining what border security really means. It’s not just about the physical movement of goods or people—it’s about cutting off access to influence, technology, and institutional legitimacy.

Cartels adapt quickly. So must we. The power move is to treat them not just as criminals, but as shadow corporations that require a full-spectrum response—financial, political, technological, and diplomatic.

The Border Buzz

Water, Watts, and Willpower: The New Border Development Equation

In today’s race to attract advanced manufacturing, logistics, and data infrastructure, the conversation has moved beyond land and tax incentives. Now, two critical questions dominate boardroom discussions and site selection decisions: Can you power it? Can you keep it running?

Arizona is feeling the pressure. With ballooning demand from semiconductor plants and energy-intensive data centers, the grid is tightening. Water access, already strained in much of the Southwest, is now a limiting factor for growth. This isn't just a public policy issue—it’s an economic one. And it's redefining what makes a project viable.

But just across the border lies an opportunity. Northern Mexico—especially in places like Nogales—is emerging as a nearshoring hotspot. Its proximity to the U.S. market, competitive cost structure, and strong trade frameworks like USMCA make the region highly attractive. Still, even the most promising sites will fall short without reliable, scalable strategies for energy and water.

This is the new competitive edge. The regions that plan ahead—securing sustainable energy partnerships, investing in water recycling and desalination, and upgrading grid connectivity—will win. The ones that delay will be left behind.

In conversations I’m having on both sides of the border, it’s clear: energy and water aren’t afterthoughts. They are prerequisites. And increasingly, investors want to see the blueprint up front—not promises, but plans. Not general assurances, but hard numbers and timelines.

The challenge is steep. But the willpower to solve it is growing. Governments, landowners, and private developers now have a shared incentive to collaborate on the infrastructure that enables the jobs, factories, and supply chains of the future.

The next wave of border development won’t be defined by who has land—it will be defined by who has power. Literally.

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