MEXICO CITY, Mexico: The United States this week placed sanctions on a well-known human rights activist in Mexico, accusing him of working for a powerful drug cartel.

The activist, Raymundo Ramos, has for years made allegations of human rights abuses by the country's armed forces.

The U.S. Treasury Department said Ramos, who leads a human rights group in Nuevo Laredo, had been posing as a human rights activist for over a decade. It claimed he made false accusations against the military to protect members of the Cartel of the Northeast (CDN).

The department said the cartel was paying Ramos, and he was trying to improve the cartel's public image while damaging trust in Mexican law enforcement efforts against it.

Because of the sanctions, any assets Ramos may have in the United States are frozen, and Americans are prohibited from doing business with him.

Ramos did not respond to requests for comment. He is based in Nuevo Laredo, a highly violent city near the U.S. border, and has been one of the most prominent human rights activists in the area.

In 2023, Ramos spoke out about alleged unlawful killings by the military and shared a video showing soldiers shooting and killing five young men in a pickup truck. In 2022, he accused Navy personnel of making civilians disappear by force.

In both cases, Mexican authorities detained military personnel and opened investigations, but it is not clear if anyone was formally charged or convicted.

Mexico's attorney general's office did not comment on the accusations against Ramos or say if it is investigating him.

In 2020, Ramos' phone was reportedly targeted with Pegasus spyware, according to digital rights groups. They said he was one of many activists and journalists in Mexico who were monitored by the government using this software.