Today, Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen announced during her travel to Mexico that the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned 15 Mexican individuals— several of whom are U.S. fugitives—and two Mexico-based companies linked, directly or indirectly, to the Beltrán Leyva Organization (BLO). The BLO continues to be one of the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world and is heavily involved in the transportation and distribution of deadly drugs, including fentanyl, to the United States. It has been one of the largest suppliers of cocaine to the U.S. market for over two decades. For over two decades, the BLO has been a significant transporter of multi-ton quantities of cocaine into the United States. The BLO’s split with the Sinaloa Cartel in 2008 ignited years of bloodshed in Mexico, as these organizations battled for control of strategic drug trafficking routes into the United States. In the years that followed, the Beltrán Leyva brothers—the founding members of the BLO—were either captured or killed. In their absence, a new generation of violent drug traffickers rose to power and assumed control of today’s BLO. The opioid epidemic, as well as the evolving landscape of illicit drug trafficking, has further emboldened the BLO to take advantage of the lucrative market for illicit fentanyl in communities across the United States. In 2008, then-President George W. Bush identified the BLO as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker pursuant to the Kingpin Act. In December 2021, OFAC designated the BLO pursuant to E.O. 14059.
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.
