"Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas today announced a new counter-network targeting operation focused on transnational criminal organizations affiliated with the smuggling of migrants, the release said.
Operation Sentinel is a collaborative effort by several agencies, including Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Citizenship and Immigration Services as well as the State Department, FBI and Drug Enforcement Administration, the release said.
"Transnational criminal organizations put profit over human life, with devastating consequences. With the help of our federal and foreign partners, we aim to cut off access to that profit by denying these criminals the ability to engage in travel, trade, and finance in the United States," Mayorkas said.
Operation Sentinel will target all personnel and identifiable resources that transnational criminal organizations require to operate and will map the organizations’ networks; target their members, associates, and assets; and employ a series of targeted actions and sanctions against them, according to the release.