Miguel Angel de Anda Ledezma (De Anda) is a high-ranking member of CDN residing in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas. De Anda oversees the procurement of guns and ammunition for CDN. In this position, De Anda has overseen payments to facilitators and straw purchasers in the United States and organized the delivery of firearms to Nuevo Laredo. These straw purchasers made false representations to secure firearms from American businesses, who fell victim to the cartel’s lies. Some of the weapons have been used in terrorist activity. One of the weapons purchased in this arms-trafficking conspiracy was recovered after CDN attacked Mexico’s army, Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional (SEDENA), during one of SEDENA’s patrols in March 2024. OFAC’s designation of De Anda and Gonzalez was the result of strong partnership and coordination with HSI San Antonio, ATF San Antonio (Operation Southbound Firearms Trafficking Task Force), and the DEA. Gonzalez (a.k.a. El Ricky) after his February 3, 2025 arrest in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. De Anda and Gonzalez are being sanctioned pursuant to E.O. 14059 and pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, CDN.
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.
