Treasury Department Sanctions Sinaloa Cartel Network of “Super Lab” Suppliers and Fentanyl Operators
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has identified six Mexican nationals and Sinaloa Cartel members involved in illicit methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking and six Mexico-based companies under Executive Order (EO) 14059 This network, led by brothers Ludim Zamudio Lerma and Luis Alfonso Zamudio Lerma, is responsible for funneling illicit precursor chemicals directly into the hands of Sinaloa Cartel members and laboratory operators, thus cementing the Sinaloa Cartel’s role as the pre-eminent broker of illicit fentanyl and other deadly substances will further strengthen drug trafficking to the United States.
“The Zamudio Lerma brothers and their network enable the production of synthetic drugs that are devastating the lives of Americans while lining the pockets of the Sinaloa Cartel leadership,” said OFAC Director Andrea Gacki. “Depriving this network of access and resources will impair the Sinaloa Cartel’s ability to manufacture and traffic the illicit drugs on which it depends.”
Sinaloa, Mexico-based brothers Ludim Zamudio Lerma and Luis Alfonso Zamudio Lerma, and Ludim Zamudio Lerma’s son Ludim Zamudio Ibarra, supply illegal precursor chemicals to high-level members of the Sinaloa cartel, including Luis Gerardo Flores Madrid, who works for Ovidio Guzman Lopez (the recently captured son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera) and lab operators including Ernesto Machado Torres and Jose Santana Arredondo Beltran. The precursor chemicals are used in superlabs — large-scale drug labs that produce 10 or more pounds of an illicit drug per production cycle — to manufacture illicit fentanyl and methamphetamine for the Sinaloa Cartel. OFAC has designated each of the above individuals under EO 14059 for having been involved or attempting to be involved in activities or transactions that have contributed substantially to, or present a significant risk of contributing substantially to, the international circulation of illicit drugs or their means of production.
The Zamudio family owns numerous Mexico-based companies, two of which — Aceros y Refacciones del Humaya, SA de CV and Farmacia Ludim — were named OFAC today under EO 14059 for involvement in, or attempted involvement in, activities or transactions that did so have contributed significantly to the international spread of illicit drugs or their means of production, or pose a significant risk of contributing significantly to it.
In addition, OFAC referred to a real estate company, Inmobiliaria del Rio Humaya, SA de CV, because it is owned, controlled or directed by Ludim Zamudio Lerma or has acted or is acting directly or indirectly for or on behalf of Ludim Zamudio Lerma claimed a second real estate company, Operadora Zait, SA de CV, was identified as owned, controlled or directed by Luis Alfonso Zamudio Lerma or acted or allegedly acted, directly or indirectly, for or on behalf of Luis Alfonso Zamudio Lerma. OFAC also identified two import/export companies, Operadora del Humaya, SA de CV and Operadora Parque Alamedas, S. de RL de CV, as having ownership, control or direction of, or acting directly or indirectly for or on behalf of, Ludim Zamudio Lerma and Ludim Zamudio Ibarra.
This action was closely coordinated with the Mexican government and would not have been possible without the cooperation, support and continued collaboration of the FBI Phoenix Field Office (Tucson Resident Agency), the FBI Legal Attaché San Salvador (Sub-Office Guatemala City), and the DEA Tucson District Office.
EFFECTS OF SANCTIONS
As a result of today’s action, all of the Designated Persons’ assets and property interests that are in the United States or are owned or controlled by US persons must be frozen and reported to OFAC. OFAC regulations generally prohibit all transactions by US persons or persons within or through the United States involving property or interests in the property of designated or otherwise blocked persons. US persons may face civil or criminal penalties for violating EO 14059. In addition, individuals engaging in certain transactions with individuals and entities designated today may themselves be subject to sanctions or enforcement action.
Today’s action is part of a government-wide effort to counter the global threat posed by the illegal drug trade into the United States, which kills tens of thousands of Americans and causes countless non-fatal drug overdoses every year. OFAC, in coordination with its U.S. government partners and foreign counterparts, will continue to target foreign actors in the illicit drug space and pursue accountability for foreign actors.
US sanctions do not have to be permanent; Sanctions are intended to bring about a positive change in behavior. Consistent with the findings of the Treasury Department’s 2021 Sanctions Review, sanctions lifting is available for individuals designated by drug enforcement agencies who demonstrate a behavioral change and no longer engage in activities related to international illicit drug trafficking or other sanctionable activities.
For information on the process for delisting from an OFAC list, including the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, see OFAC’s Frequently Asked Question 897. For more information on OFAC’s administered sanctions programs, click here.
