The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced new sanctions on two Mexican businesses for their links to the Sinaloa Cartel and its unlawful activities. Concretely, they stand accused of using proceeds of fentanyl trafficking to launder money.
The body also sanctioned five Colombian nationals linked to the Clan del Golfo, who will see all property and interests in property of the designated persons in the U.S. or under U.S. control to be blocked. U.S. persons are also prohibited from engaging in transactions involving these assets, with potential civil or criminal penalties for violations.
In a press release, OFAC detailed that Jesus Norberto Larranaga Herrera, also known as "El 30" along with Karla Gabriela Lizarraga Sanchez, established Nieves y Paletas EVI, a frozen dessert business then used as a front for money laundering operations.
Similarly, Jose Arnoldo Morgan Huerta, who manages cartel operations in Nogales, Sonora, has used proceeds obtained from cocaine, heroin and illicit fentanyl sales to run Farmacia y Mini Super Trinidad, a retail pharmacy and supermarket.
"Today's action is part of a whole-of-government effort to counter the global threat posed by the trafficking of illicit drugs into the United States that is causing the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans annually, as well as countless more non-fatal overdoses," the U.S. Treasury Department said in the statement.
OFAC also announced actions targeting Colombia's largest drug trafficking organizations, the Clan del Golfo. The five Colombian nationals sanctioned by the OFAC include Jose Miguel Demoya Hernandez, Alexander Celis Durango, Jose Gonzalo Sanchez Sanchez, Jose Emilson Cordoba Quinto and Wilder de Jesus Alcaraz Morales.
Last year, the U.S. announced sanctions against the Clan del Golfo leader, Jobanis de Jesús Ávila Villadiego, also known as "Chiquito Malo," who assumed leadership of the organization following the arrest of Dairo Antonio Úsuga a.k.a "Otoniel" in October of 2021.
"President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to using every tool at our disposal to combat the cartels that are poisoning our communities with fentanyl and other deadly drugs," said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo.
Adeyemo said that the actions taken by the United States also target the ability of criminal organizations such as Colombia's Clan del Golfo to operate migrant smuggling networks through the Darien Gap and to the U.S.-Mexico border.
According to the agency, Cordoba Quinto and Alcaraz Morales have been responsible for the control of migrant flows through the Darien Gap, as well as for the transport of drugs through CDG's territory.
Over the past two years, Treasury has sanctioned more than 350 targets for involvement in drug trafficking activities at all stages of the supply chain, from major cartel leaders to under-the-radar labs, transportation networks, and chemical suppliers.
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