Kevin Arzate Gomez is a key lieutenant for La Nueva Familia Michoacana and has contacts and associates along the Mexico/United States border. Kevin Arzate Gomez negotiates on behalf of the cartel to have drugs enter the United States and assists in getting the money from those drugs sales back to Mexico. Rodolfo Maldonado Bustos, Kevin Arzate Gomez, and Euclides Camacho Goicochea are being designated 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. Josue Ramirez Carrera, Josue Lopez Hernandez, David Duran Alvarez, Uriel Tabares Martinez, and Lucio Ochoa Lagunes are being designated for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, La Nueva Familia Michoacana.
These designations would not have been possible without the cooperation, support, and ongoing collaboration between the Drug Enforcement Administration and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia. This action was also coordinated closely with the Government of Mexico, including La Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), Mexico’s financial intelligence unit. In addition, today’s action furthers efforts by Treasury’s Counter-Fentanyl Strike Force, which leverages Treasury’s unique expertise and capabilities to interdict and disrupt the illicit financial networks upon which the cartels rely. These collective partnerships highlight the importance of broader U.S. government collaboration in targeting illicit fentanyl supply chains.
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.
