The Department of Treasury said in a statement that Judge Isidro Avelar Gutiérrez was designated under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Act because he received bribes from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and Los Cuinis drug trafficking gang in exchange for providing favorable judicial rulings to their senior members.

It is the first time that a member of Mexico’s federal judiciary has been placed on the kingpin list. Avelar’s access to any financial assets he holds in the United States will be blocked.

Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIF) announced earlier this week that they had frozen the Jalisco-based judge’s bank accounts and filed a criminal complaint against him with the federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR).

Treasury said that former Nayarit governor Roberto Sandoval Castañeda was also designated for having engaged in an array of corruption activities such as the misappropriation of state assets and the receipt of bribes from Mexican drug traffickers, including the CJNG.

Sigal Mandelker, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Department of Treasury, said that United States authorities coordinated with their Mexican counterparts to make the new designations.

“Officials such as Isidro Avelar Gutiérrez and Roberto Sandoval Castañeda callously enrich themselves at the expense of their fellow citizens,” she said.

“Whether they are receiving bribes from narcotics trafficking organizations or engaging in a variety of other illicit activities, these and other corrupt officials will face serious consequences including being cut off from the U.S. financial system.”