Calle Frida Kahlo 2464, Fraccionamiento Residencial Los Cisnes, Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico;
Calle Diego Valadez 1321, Col. Chapultepec, Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico
Reg. ID
ZALL650409HSLMRS03, C.U.R.P.
Official reason
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated six Mexican nationals and Sinaloa Cartel members involved in the illicit methamphetamine and fentanyl trade as well as six Mexico-based entities pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14059. Led by brothers Ludim Zamudio Lerma and Luis Alfonso Zamudio Lerma, this network is responsible for diverting illicit precursor chemicals directly into the hands of Sinaloa Cartel members and laboratory operators, further bolstering the Sinaloa Cartel’s role as the preeminent facilitator of illicit fentanyl and other deadly drugs being trafficked into the United States.Based in Sinaloa, Mexico, the brothers, Ludim Zamudio Lerma and Luis Alfonso Zamudio Lerma, as well as Ludim Zamudio Lerma’s son, Ludim Zamudio Ibarra, supply illicit precursor chemicals to high-level Sinaloa Cartel members, including Luis Gerardo Flores Madrid, who works for Ovidio Guzman Lopez (the recently captured son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera), and lab operators, including Ernesto Machado Torres and Jose Santana Arredondo Beltran. The precursor chemicals are used in super labs — large-scale drug laboratories that produce 10 or more pounds of an illicit drug per production cycle — to produce illicit fentanyl and methamphetamine for the Sinaloa Cartel. OFAC designated each of the above individuals pursuant to E.O. 14059 for having engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production. Additionally, OFAC designated a real estate business, Inmobiliaria del Rio Humaya, S.A. de C.V., for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Ludim Zamudio Lerma, while a second real estate business, Operadora Zait, S.A. de C.V., was designated for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Luis Alfonso Zamudio Lerma. OFAC also designated two import/export companies, Operadora del Humaya, S.A. de C.V. and Operadora Parque Alamedas, S. de R.L. de C.V., for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Ludim Zamudio Lerma and Ludim Zamudio Ibarra.
Executive Order 14059 of December 15, 2021 Imposing Sanctions on Foreign Persons Involved in the Global Illicit Drug Trade
Regime
OFAC-horizontal
Target State
Drugs
Measures
Blocking Property, Suspending Entry
Official Information
President Biden signed a new Executive Order (E.O.) to modernize the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s sanctions authorities used to combat the illicit drug trade. This E.O. will provide the Treasury Department with new tools to tackle changes in the global illicit drug trade that substantially contributed to over 100,000 American overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending in April 2021.
This E.O. enhances the Department of Treasury’s authorities to target any foreign person engaged in drug trafficking activities, regardless of whether they are linked to a specific kingpin or cartel. It further enables Treasury to sanction foreign persons who knowingly receive property that constitutes, or is derived from, proceeds of illicit drug trafficking activities.
Under the new E.O., “Imposing Sanctions on Foreign Persons Involved in the Global Illicit Drug Trade,” the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today designated 25 actors (10 individuals and 15 entities) in four countries for having engaged in, or attempted to engage in, activities or transactions that have materially contributed to, or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to, the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production.
“The illicit drug trade threatens our national security, economy, communities, and families,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson. “More than 100,000 Americans died in just twelve months from a drug overdose, a record 28 percent increase that was driven largely by synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl. Using President Biden’s new E.O., Treasury will deploy its sanctions authority with greater speed, power, and effect across the entire illicit drug ecosystem, especially those who profit from the death and misery of the opioid epidemic. We will continue working closely with our partners to reduce threats from these groups and disrupt their business models, including by stopping them from using the U.S. financial system.”
Today’s action targets individuals and drug trafficking organizations (DTO) based in Brazil, China, Colombia, and Mexico. Those sanctioned include individuals who traffic fentanyl, and its precursor chemicals, methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin, as well as organizations that pose the greatest drug threat to the United States.
The new E.O. builds upon Treasury’s previous narcotics sanctions authorities, specifically E.O. 12978 (1995) and the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act) (1999). Treasury designated eight individuals and entities under the new E.O. and is also applying the expanded tools of this authority to designate 17 individuals and entities previously sanctioned under other authorities.
