The U.S. Coast Guard has caught and apprehended another eight fishers from Mexico illegally harvesting red snapper in U.S. waters.
On 28 March, the Coast Guard detected Mexican fishers illegally fishing for red snapper in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico, currently referred to as the Gulf of America by the U.S. government. Coast Guard officers interdicted the fishers, seizing roughly 150 pounds of red snapper and two lanchas – small, fast vessels used by poachers to cross into U.S. waters – and detaining eight individuals. The fishers were transferred to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for processing.
Including the latest incident, the Coast Guard has reported capturing 38 Mexican fishers illegally harvesting red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico so far this year.
The U.S. government has connected red snapper poaching to criminal organizations in Mexico; the U.S. Department of Treasury issued sanctions against five individuals accused of organizing illegal fishing activities on behalf of the Gulf Cartel last year.
“As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to [the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control],” the department said in December 2024. “In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more, by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.”
