Operating from Sinaloa, Mexico, Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles (Ojeda Aviles) is the head of a network involved in laundering the illicit proceeds of the Sinaloa Cartel’s drug trafficking activities, including from illicit fentanyl sales. He is affiliated with Los Chapitos. Specifically, Ojeda Aviles has coordinated the collection of bulk quantities of cash in the United States—the proceeds of fentanyl and other illicit drug sales. He then facilitates the conversion of this bulk cash into cryptocurrency for ultimate transfer to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico. Ojeda Aviles took over as the primary launderer for Los Chapitos after the murder of Mario Alberto Jimenez Castro, whom OFAC designated on September 26, 2023, citing Jimenez Castro’s use of digital currency and wire transfers, among other methods, to transfer proceeds from illicit fentanyl sales in the United States to Sinaloa Cartel leaders in Mexico. In addition to laundering drug proceeds, Ojeda Aviles is also directly involved in overseeing shipments of narcotics into the United States, including illicit fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine. Ojeda Aviles’s network is composed of Mexico-based drug suppliers, as well as U.S.-based couriers who conduct money pickups.A close associate of Ojeda Aviles, Jesus Alonso Aispuro Felix (Aispuro Felix) is the chief money broker for this drug trafficking and money laundering network. He is responsible for brokering bulk transfers of drug proceeds through digital currency addresses.Businessman Alfredo Orozco Romero serves as a security advisor to Ojeda Aviles and acts as a debt collector for money owed on cocaine shipments. OFAC designated Ojeda Aviles and Aispuro Felix pursuant to E.O. 14059 for having provided, or attempted to provide, financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, the Sinaloa Cartel. They are also being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, the Sinaloa Cartel. OFAC designated Alfredo Orozco Romero for having provided, or attempted to provide, financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, Ojeda Aviles. He is also being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Ojeda Aviles.
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.
