“Socalj” for Borderland Beat
The precursor chemicals for producing both fentanyl and methamphetamine were shipped from India through Guatemala, to Sinaloa and Guadalajara in Mexico. Several of the suppliers and logistical companies sanctioned as part of this network have been reported to have supplied chemicals to both CDS and CJNG groups.
Chemical Precursors from India
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The first person named is Satishkumar Hareshbjai Sutaria, an Indian trader of chemical precursors who, along with a sales associate, Yuktakumari Ashishkumar Modi, sent shipments of chemical precursors to Mexico and Guatemala to synthesize fentanyl.
Both used the companies SR Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals and Agrat Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals to ship goods to the Americas, with counterfeit labels on the shipments. They were arrested in India in March 2025 and have now been sanctioned, along with the two companies they used.
Guatemalan Intermediaries
Also designated were Guatemalan national Jaime Augusto Barrientos Camaz and his companies J and C Import and Central Logística de Servicios. Barrientos was responsible for transporting chemical precursors and even finished fentanyl in collaboration with Agrat Chemicals and SR Chemicals, the Indian companies.
“The intermediaries, acting in tandem with the Mexican cartels, facilitate the logistics and shipments of these chemicals to Mexico or Guatemala via maritime cargo. The shipments regularly contain kilograms of deadly fentanyl precursors and bear false labels as ‘safe chemicals.’ The intermediaries then transfer the chemicals to individuals known as ‘cooks,’ who operate clandestine synthetic drug labs controlled by the cartels,” the U.S. Treasury Department stated.
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| ‘Dora’ and ‘Tobilio’ the Mexicans linked to Los Chapitos were arrested last month in Mexico. |
Mexican Companies Sanctioned
Carrillo Torres is identified as an intermediary for chemical precursors such as 1-Boc-4-Hydroxypiperidine, in collaboration with the sons of “El Chapo” Guzmán.
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Also sanctioned were Jalisco-based businessman and importer José de Jesús Ramírez Torres and his companies Corporativo y Enlace Ram, Enlace Forwarding México, Cargo Global 3PS, and E-Ram Group, which is based in Miami, Florida, USA. He uses his companies to import chemical precursors for methamphetamine production.
Mexican Chemists & Traffickers
Alejandro Reynoso Jiménez is a chemist and businessman who operated clandestine laboratories via Botánica 2000 for the production of synthetic drugs for Los Chapitos, particularly dedicated to the production of fentanyl pills that are eventually shipped to the United States. He was known as the “Shadow Chemist.”
El Güero Reyna coordinates the faction’s operations in Bacata, Los Vasitos, and Cosalá, manages several laboratories dedicated to the production of illicit substances, and leads the armed cell “Los F1” or “Gente del F1.”

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