WASHINGTON, D.C.: The United States has placed sanctions on two sons of jailed Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman. These two sons are on the run. The U.S. is offering up to $10 million each for information that helps catch or convict them.

The U.S. Treasury named the two men as Archivaldo Ivan Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar. They are believed to be in Mexico.

Two other sons of El Chapo — Joaquin Guzman Lopez and Ovidio Guzman Lopez — are already in U.S. custody. In May, U.S. prosecutors said they would not seek the death penalty for Joaquin Guzman Lopez if he is found guilty in a Chicago court.

Sanctions were also placed on a group within the Sinaloa cartel known as the "Chapitos" (which means "little Chapos"). This group is a significant source of the deadly drug fentanyl sent to the U.S. Sanctions also target their network in Mazatlan, Mexico, which is accused of drug trafficking, extortion, and money laundering.

El Chapo led the smuggling of large amounts of cocaine and other drugs into the U.S. for 25 years. He was found guilty in 2019 and is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said they are following orders to destroy drug cartels and go after violent leaders like El Chapo's children.

Mexico's government has not yet commented.

David Saucedo, a Mexican security expert, said offering money and protection to informants has helped U.S. authorities get inside cartel networks. In some significant cases, informants have provided up to 20 percent of key evidence.

"People inside the gangs turn against their leaders for money," Saucedo said. "The U.S. is using this to weaken the drug cartels."

President Biden used this strategy, and it is now being continued under President Trump.

The Sinaloa cartel has existed since the 1970s and is Mexico's oldest criminal group. Its most profitable business in recent years has been making fentanyl, a drug that causes many overdose deaths in the U.S. In February, the Trump administration officially labeled the cartel a foreign terrorist group.