(Archived Content)
WASHINGTON –The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today designated Los Gueros, a Mexican drug trafficking organization that is part of the Sinaloa Cartel, as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker (SDNT) pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). Today’s action also targeted the leaders of Los Gueros and key members of the Sinaloa Cartel, brothers Luis Rodriguez Olivera and EstebanRodriguez Olivera, as well as their brothers and key members of Los Gueros, Daniel Rodriguez Olivera and Miguel Rodriguez Olivera. As a result of today’s action, U.S. persons are prohibited from conducting financial or commercial transactions with the designees, and any assets they may have under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen.
“By identifying and exposing this family enterprise, today’s designation seeks to cripple the capabilities of Los Gueros and its leadership, and to deny the Sinaloa Cartel the financial and organizational support provided to it by this narcotics trafficking and money laundering organization,” said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin.
In August 2009, the Eastern District of New York charged Luis and Esteban Rodriguez Olivera on narcotics trafficking charges. The indictment alleges that Luis and Esteban Rodriguez Olivera operated a narcotics supply route originating in Mexico that entered the United States through Texas before branching off to various points throughout the United States. According to the indictment, between 1996 and 2008, the Los Gueros organization allegedly imported more than 100,000 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. In January 2006, Mexican authorities seized approximately 5,200 kilograms of cocaine destined for the United States that is believed to have belonged to the Los Gueros organization.
Today’s action, supported by the National Drug Intelligence Center, the Eastern District of New York, the Drug Enforcement Administration New York Field Division and the Drug Enforcement Administration Mexico Country Office, is the latest in a series of actions by OFAC to apply financial measures against Mexican drug trafficking organizations. Internationally, OFAC has designated more than 950 businesses and individuals linked to 87 drug kingpins since June 2000. 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 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.
To view a chart of Los Gueros Drug Trafficking Organization, visit link.
Use featured image
Off