Mexico is launching a new initiative that it hopes will allow it to make progress combating criminal activity. According to the New York Times, this country is attempting to turn more attention to the way it targets specific criminals using a private list of "kingpins."
The purpose of the list is not just to maintain an organized file dedicated to potential suspects, but also as a way to find businesses that are being operated with illegally gained money and prevent them from conducting future business.
Although the government will keep the list private, the source quoted Mexico's Finance Secretary Luis Videgaray, who said that being included would have immediate repercussions.
The guidelines for the list will be based on other existing, similar initiatives in other countries, particularly the United States, which has been using the legal framework of the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act to find criminals since 1999.
"For the first time we have the ability to issue a list, and have that list prohibit any financial institution from carrying out transactions with these persons," he said.
This list could be seen as part of the country's general push toward a tougher approach to crime. Authorities have made progress against the people associated with the operations of Joaquin Guzman, an alleged "drug lord" known as "el Chapo." Forbes reported that Guzman has denied involvement in criminal activity, despite a record that goes back for more than a decade.
The Chicago Sun-Times also reports that one of Guzman's associates, Edgar Manuel Valencia Ortega, was apprehended in the United States earlier this year. This source mentions that three other related criminals have been tracked down by the authorities as well.
