Also today, OFAC designated Colombian national Jobanis de Jesus Avila Villadiego (Avila Villadiego), also known as “Chiquito Malo,” the current leader of the Clan del Golfo, which supplies cocaine to major drug trafficking organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel. In May 2022, following the announcement that the former leader of the Clan del Golfo would be extradited to the United States, Avila Villadiego declared an “armed strike” which sparked violence throughout Colombia. In response, Colombian authorities announced a reward of approximately $1.2 million for information to help locate and capture Avila Villadiego. In July 2022, Avila Villadiego purportedly ordered the launch of a murder campaign targeting Colombian security forces. Avila Villadiego is indicted in two U.S. District Courts. In June 2022, a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment charging Avila Villadiego with cocaine trafficking. In August 2015, a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York returned an indictment charging Avila Villadiego, among others, with being engaged in a continuing criminal enterprise; charges included participating in a cocaine trafficking conspiracy and conspiring to murder rival drug traffickers.
Avila Villadiego was designated by OFAC 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.
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.
