El Salvador;
Mexico;
Honduras;
Guatemala;
United States
Official reason
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Yulan Adonay Archaga Carias a.k.a. “Alexander Mendoza” a.k.a. “Porky,” an MS-13 gang leader based in Honduras, and David Elias Campbell Licona a.k.a. “Jorge Eduardo Perez Paz,” an MS-13 associate based in Nicaragua, pursuant to transnational criminal organization authorities. Both individuals are heavily involved in drug trafficking, violence, murder, extortion, and money laundering. In October 2012, MS-13 became the first transnational criminal street gang to be designated by Treasury as a transnational criminal organization. MS-13 conducts its illicit activities in the United States and around the world. MS-13’s criminal activity includes human smuggling, sex trafficking, narcotics trafficking, murder, assassinations, racketeering, blackmail, extortion, and immigration offenses. MS-13’s criminal activities have helped make Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras one of the most violent regions in the world. MS-13’s violent grip in Central America is one of the forces driving thousands of migrants to flee for the United States. Migrants from the Northern Triangle—Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador—have headed to the U.S. southern border in much publicized caravans to flee violence and poverty. OFAC designated Campbell Licona pursuant to E.O. 13581, as amended by E.O. 13863, for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, MS-13.
On June 6, 2003, OFAC issued the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 594 (68 FR 34196, June 6, 2003 (“the Regulations”), to implement Executive Order (E.O.) 13224 of September 23, 2001, “Blocking Property and Prohibiting Transactions With Persons Who Commit, Threaten To Commit, or Support Terrorism” (66 FR 49079, September 25, 2001). OFAC has amended the Regulations on several occasions.
On September 9, 2019, the President, invoking the authority of, inter alia, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701–1706) (IEEPA) and the United Nations Participation Act (22 U.S.C. 287c) (UNPA), issued E.O. 13886, “Modernizing Sanctions To Combat Terrorism” (84 FR 48041, September 12, 2019), effective September 10, 2019. In E.O. 13886, the President, finding it necessary to consolidate and enhance sanctions to combat acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism by foreign terrorists, terminated the national emergency declared in E.O. 12947 of January 23, 1995, “Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process” (60 FR 5079, January 25, 1995), and revoked E.O. 12947, as amended by E.O. 13099 of August 20, 1998, “Prohibiting Transactions With Terrorists Who Threaten To Disrupt the Middle East Peace Process” (63 FR 45167, August 25, 1998). In addition, the President amended E.O. 13224, in order to build upon initial steps taken in E.O. 12947, to further strengthen and consolidate sanctions to combat the continuing threat posed by international terrorism, and in order to take additional steps to deal with the national emergency declared in E.O. 13224, with respect to the continuing and immediate threat of grave acts of terrorism and threats of terrorism committed by foreign terrorists, which include acts of terrorism that threaten the Middle East peace process.
Section 1 of E.O. 13886 replaces in its entirety section 1 of E.O. 13224, which had been amended by a number of prior Executive orders (E.O. 13224, as amended by all such authorities, is referred to herein as “amended E.O. 13224”), but does not amend the Annex to E.O. 13224, which was previously amended by E.O. 13268 of July 2, 2002, “Termination of Emergency With Respect to the Taliban and Amendment of Executive Order 13224 of September 23, 2001” (67 FR 44751, July 3, 2002) (“amended Annex to E.O. 13224”).
