Bangladesh, Dec. 19 -- The United States has imposed sweeping sanctions on a powerful Mexican criminal organization accused of stealing fuel on an industrial scale, marking a significant escalation in Washingtons effort to combat transnational organized crime linked to energy theft and corruption. The US Treasury Department announced that it has sanctioned the Cartel de Santa Rosa de Lima (CSRL) and its notorious leader, Jose Antonio Yepez Ortiz, widely known by his alias “El Marro,” citing their central role in fuel and oil theft operations concentrated in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.

According to the Treasury Department, the cartel has built much of its financial power by exploiting Mexicos vast energy infrastructure, p...