In an unexpected twist, professional makeup artist Sheila Paola Urías Vázquez has been included on the list of organizations and individuals sanctioned by the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The measure is due to her relationship with the “Los Chapitos” faction, the criminal group led by the sons of “El Chapo” Guzmán.
According to the United States Department of the Treasury (USDT), the cosmetologist has been identified as a front man for this criminal cell. This designation places her directly in the crosshairs of US authorities seeking to dismantle the financial networks of organized crime.
Originally from Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Sheila Paola Urías Vázquez forged a career in the beauty world, studying cosmetology at the Autonomous University of Durango. Her professionalism even led her to Los Angeles, California, in 2016, where she became certified as a makeup instructor.
Initially, she opened a beauty salon in her own home and, over time, began offering training for women interested in starting a career in the cosmetics industry. Her presence on social media, where she shared makeup tutorials and beauty tips, garnered her a considerable following. With this “success,” she expanded her businesses, venturing into spa services and dress rentals.
The key to her connection with “Los Chapitos” lies in her marriage to businessman José Raúl Núñez Ríos, alias “El Lic.” Núñez Ríos has also been identified by US authorities as a financial collaborator of the Guzmán faction.
Núñez Ríos has been identified as owning a network of ten companies that, according to investigations, help finance the criminal cell. Of these, at least two are in the name of Sheila Urías Vázquez, leading the US government to directly accuse her of being a front woman for the organization.
