(Archived Content)
Action Targets Lieutenant within Chapo Guzman’s Organization
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced the designation of two Mexican nationals, Victor Manuel Felix Beltran and Alfonso Limon Sanchez, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). This action was coordinated with the Department of Justice’s unsealing of indictments against Felix Beltran and Limon Sanchez by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in the Northern District of Illinois and the Southern District of California, respectively. As a result of today’s action, all assets of those designated that are based in the United States or are in the control of U.S. persons are frozen, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.
“With today’s designation of Victor Felix Beltran, we are yet again targeting Joaquin Guzman Loera’s organization, one of the world’s most influential drug trafficking networks,” said Adam J. Szubin, Director of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). “This action demonstrates our determination to target both emerging and established leaders within the Sinaloa Cartel, including Felix Beltran as well as Alfonso Limon Sanchez, and to combat their illicit activities through financial sanctions.”
Victor Manuel Felix Beltran is a high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel trafficker, who operates from Culiacan and Guadalajara, Mexico. Felix Beltran is the son of prominent Mexican drug trafficker, Victor Felix Felix, who transported cocaine and laundered money on behalf of incarcerated Sinaloa Cartel leader, Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman Loera. Felix Felix was designated by OFAC in September 2012. Following the March 2011 arrest of Felix Felix in Mexico, Felix Beltran took over his father’s drug trafficking organization. In an indictment unsealed today, January 27, 2015, in the Northern District of Illinois, Felix Beltran was charged with drug trafficking and money laundering, charges from which he remains a fugitive. Felix Beltran also serves as a lieutenant for Guzman Loera’s sons, Jesus Alfredo and Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, both of whom were previously designated by OFAC.
Today, the Treasury Department also designated Alfonso “Chubas” Limon Sanchez, who is a close associate of Sinaloa Cartel leader, Ismael “Mayo” Zambada Garcia. In an indictment unsealed on January 16, 2015 in the Southern District of California, Limon Sanchez was charged with being a primary cocaine source of supply for Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael Zambada Garcia. Limon Sanchez supplied Sinaloa Cartel members with multi-ton quantities of cocaine prior to his arrest in Mexico on November 18, 2014. Limon Sanchez is the brother of incarcerated Sinaloa Cartel lieutenant, Ovidio Limon Sanchez, who was designated by OFAC in May 2012.
Other Sinaloa Cartel leaders were among those charged in the U.S. federal indictments, including Guzman Loera, Ismael Zambada Garcia, Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, and Heriberto “Capi Beto” Zazueta Godoy. The United States identified Guzman Loera, Zambada Garcia, and the Sinaloa Cartel as significant foreign narcotics traffickers pursuant to the Kingpin Act in 2001, 2002, and 2009, respectively. The Guzman Salazar brothers were designated by OFAC in May and June 2012, respectively, and Zazueta Godoy was designated by OFAC in May 2014.
The Treasury action was taken in close coordination with the Drug Enforcement Administration, specifically the Chicago and San Diego Field Divisions, as well as the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern District of Illinois and the Southern District of California. This designation is part of a larger effort, in collaboration with Mexican authorities, to use financial sanctions aggressively to disrupt Mexican drug trafficking organizations.
Since June 2000, more than 1,700 entities and individuals have been named pursuant to the Kingpin Act for their role in international narcotics trafficking. Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1.075 million per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million. Other individuals could face up to 10 years in prison and fines pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act.
For a chart relating to today’s actions click here.
For a complete listing of designations pursuant to the Kingpin Act, click here.
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