The United States formalized on Oct. 6, 2026, the blocking of hotels, gas stations and exchange houses in Tijuana and Mexicali that authorities say were tied to the Sinaloa Cartel. The move freezes assets under U.S. jurisdiction and bars U.S. citizens and companies from doing business with the targeted firms.
The action turned a Sept. 29 determination, signed by Bradley T. Smith, into an official sanction order. In practical terms, that means the businesses cannot use assets that fall under U.S. control, and any U.S. person or company that tries to transact with them would run into the sanctions wall the moment the order takes effect.
That is why the filing matters now. The Office of Foreign Assets Control identified a cluster of businesses spread across Tijuana, Mexicali and Culiacán as part of a financial structure for the criminal group in Baja California, and the order names several companies one by one. Galerías Centro Cambiario, known commercially as Magic Casa de Cambio, was blocked in Tijuana and linked to Ilia Elizabeth Félix Rivera. Mía Centro Cambiario was blocked in Mexicali and tied to José Ángel Rivera Zazueta, also identified as Miguel Ángel Rivera Salas and by the nickname El Flaco.
The list goes beyond exchange houses. Rivos Servicios fell under the same commercial restrictions, while Services Hoteleros Gastélum was blocked in Culiacán and linked to Hildegardo Gastélum García, identified as Aldo. Grupo Gasolinero Nueva Esperanza was sanctioned in Mexicali and tied to Pedro Ariel Mendívil García, and Xolo Gas de Baja California was sanctioned in Tijuana and linked to Jerónimo Javier Vera Ayala. Baja Fixer Group was also blocked in Tijuana, with Marco Antonio Moreno Gómez Santelices named by the authority.
There is a gap in the public record that matters as much as the order itself: the formal notice states the conclusion, but it does not lay out the underlying evidence in detail for each business. That leaves the sanctions with immediate force and limited public explanation, which is often how financial pressure is applied in these cases. The order also sanctioned Conciertos y Espectáculos Inhouse, Festivales Artistas Mobiliario Asesoría, also known as Promociones CHF de Baja California, and Edifika Desarrollos Baja in Tijuana, while Raes Restaurante and The Woods Bar were grouped with Luis Alfonso Torres Torres. For now, the most important next step is not a new announcement but the restriction already in place: these companies are cut off from U.S.-linked transactions unless and until the designation is altered.
