US sanctions Mexican judge, ex-governor for corruption

The United States on Friday sanctioned a Mexican judge and a former state governor for corruption and maintaining links with drug cartels.

Judge Isidro Avelar and Roberto Sandoval, a former governor of Nayarit, were among eight Mexicans and six businesses sanctioned for ties to drug trafficking organizations Los Cuinis and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG).

Avelar and Sandoval "callously enrich themselves at the expense of their fellow citizens," the Treasury Department said in a statement, adding that assets and property in the US belonging to the sanctioned individuals are "blocked." "Whether they are receiving bribes from narcotics trafficking organisations or engaging in a variety of other illicit activities, these and other corrupt officials will face serious consequences including being cut off from the US financial system."