US Treasury Sanctions Fourth “Chapito,” Joaquín Guzmán López for Fentanyl Trafficking

“Socalj” for Borderland Beat

Today, the United States sanctioned the one of the sons of “El Chapo” alongside three members of the Sinaloa cartel and two Mexican-based firms, alleging they trafficked fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S.

The Treasury Department designated Joaquín Guzmán López and others for financial sanctions, including a freeze on American-owned assets and bank accounts and a ban on Americans doing business with them. A Culiacan, Mexico chemical and lab equipment company and a real estate business also were targeted for sanctions.

The latest penalties by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control follow a set of April fentanyl trafficking charges brought against his three brothers, Ovidio Guzmán López, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Sálazar, known as Los Chapitos, and two dozen members of the Sinaloa cartel. OFAC previously designated the Guzman Salazar brothers, as well as Ovidio Guzman Lopez, in 2012 pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act and again in 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14059.

Los Chapitos

Joaquin Guzman Lopez works closely with his brothers and is responsible for overseeing many aspects of the Los Chapitos drug trafficking empire. For example, Joaquin Guzman Lopez is involved in the management of super labs—which have often been supplied by a network run by Sinaloa-based brothers Ludim and Luis Alfonso Zamudio Lerma—and in the trafficking of illicit drugs into the United States. In February of this year, OFAC designated the Zamudio Lerma brothers pursuant to E.O. 14059.

Joaquin Guzman Lopez was first indicted on federal drug trafficking charges in 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and Guzman Lopez has since been charged in multiple superseding indictments in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, including the indictment unsealed on April 14, 2023.

The network of real estate and chemical lab companies connected to Joaquin Guzman Lopez.

Sinaloa Members Sanctioned

The three other individuals OFAC designated today include:

Raymundo Perez Uribe leads a supplier network used by the Sinaloa Cartel to obtain precursor chemicals for the manufacture of illicit drugs.

Saul Paez Lopez, who is involved in coordinating illicit drug shipments for his first cousins, Ovidio and Joaquin Guzman Lopez.

Mario Esteban Ogazon Sedano, who purchases illicit precursor chemicals from Ludim Zamudio Lerma and operates illegal drug laboratories on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel.

Sanctioned Companies

Additionally, Sumilab, S.A. de C.V. (Sumilab), which is a Culiacan, Sinaloa-based chemical and lab equipment company, was designated today for its involvement in providing and shipping precursor chemicals for and to Sinaloa Cartel members and associates. OFAC designated all four individuals, as well as Sumilab, 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.

In addition, OFAC designated a Sinaloa-based real estate business, Urbanizacion, Inmobiliaria y Construccion de Obras, S.A. de C.V., pursuant to E.O. 14059 for being owned, controlled, or directed by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Mario Esteban Ogazon Sedano.

$5,000,000 Reward

While Ovidio Guzman Lopez was captured in Mexico in January of this year, Joaquin Guzman Lopez and the Guzman Salazar brothers remain fugitives. Through its Narcotics Rewards Program, the U.S. Department of State offers a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Joaquin Guzman Lopez and Ovidio Guzman Lopez, as well as a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar.

China-Mexico-US Fentynal Trafficking Debate

The sanctions came the day Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was to talk with President Joe Biden by phone about immigration and the fentanyl crisis. López Obrador has denied that drug cartels make fentanyl in Mexico, although he has acknowledged that precursor chemicals and finished fentanyl are smuggled into Mexico from China, a claim China has denied.

Mexico, China, and a lesser extent India are the primary sources of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked directly into the US, according to the DEA. Most of the fentanyl trafficked in the United States comes from the Sinaloa cartel, the DEA says.

“Today’s action continues to disrupt key nodes of the global illicit fentanyl enterprise, including the producers, suppliers, and transporters,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson. “Treasury, in close coordination with the Government of Mexico and U.S. law enforcement, will continue to leverage our authorities to isolate and disrupt Los Chapitos and the Sinaloa Cartel’s operations at every juncture.”