The US Department of the Treasury has identified members of Mexico's Gulf Cartel as key players in illegal fishing operations targeting red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. The fish, abundant in US waters due to strict conservation rules,

The United States on Tuesday sanctioned members of a Mexican drug cartel over the illegal fishing of red snapper and shark species in U.S. waters.

The sanctions target the Matamoros leader of the Gulf Cartel and its leaders in Playa Bagdad, where it illegally fishes for red snapper and shark.

The U.S. Coast Guard intercepted three lancha crews, seizing 2,200 pounds of illegally caught fish and detaining 19 Mexican fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico.

The cartel allegedly uses fishing boats to smuggle drugs and migrants — and catch tons of red snapper, a commercially valuable but vulnerable species.

The Treasury Department issued sanctions against a Mexican drug cartel for their role in illegal red snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.