Close relatives of the “Los Chapitos” and Samudio Lerma families are persecuted in cooperation with the Mexican government.
WASHINGTON. Today, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned 10 people, including several members of the Sinaloa cartel and fugitives, and one Mexican organization under Executive Order (EO) 14059. precursor chemical suppliers and brothers Ludim and Luis Alfonso Samudio Lerma, and ultimately operate under the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa cartel. The Sinaloa Cartel, responsible for much of the trafficking of fentanyl and other deadly drugs into the United States, is one of the most powerful and widespread drug trafficking organizations in the world.
“During my visit to the Southwest Frontier, I saw how best to use the powers of the Treasury Department to expose and isolate those profiting from the sale of lethal fentanyl in the United States,” said Undersecretary of the Treasury for Counterterrorism and Financial Intelligence. Brian E. …Nelson. “Today’s sanctions demonstrate our ability and our determination to exploit the financial vulnerabilities of the networks involved in the fentanyl illicit trade.”
OFAC today appointed Noel Lopez Perez and Ricardo Paez Lopez, both Mexican citizens who are involved in drug trafficking and transportation, the sale of chemical precursors, oversight of illegal drug laboratories, cross-border tunnels, and law enforcement operations for Los Chapitos. As the sibling of Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera’s second wife, Griselda López Pérez, Noel López Pérez is Guzmán Loera’s brother-in-law, and thus the uncle of Ovidio and Joaquin Guzmán López. In addition, Ricardo Paez Lopez and his brother Saul Paez Lopez are maternal first cousins of the Guzmán Lopez brothers. OFAC appointed Joaquín Guzmán López and Saul Paez López in May of this year to pursue EO 14059.
In addition, OFAC today granted Mexican citizens the status Dora Vanessa Valdes Fernandezwho buys precursor chemicals from Ludim Zamudio Lerma; Nestor Isidro Perez Salas (aka “Nini”) and Oscar Noe Medina Gonzalez (a.k.a. “Panu”), fentanyl traffickers and violent enforcers for Los Chapitos; And Yuri Lemon Elenesmethamphetamine dealer and son-in-law of the Paez Lopez brothers, Ricardo and Saul.
OFAC designated Noel López Pérez, Ricardo Paez López, Dora Vanessa Valdez Fernández, Nestor Isidro Pérez Salas, Oscar Noe Medina González, and Heuri Limón Elenes as harassers of EO 14059 for engaging in or attempting to engage in activities or transactions that made a material contribution or pose a significant risk of materially facilitating the international distribution of illicit drugs or their means of production.
Also today, OFAC appointed an import-export company International company REI, SA de CV (International company REI) in accordance with EO 14059 for engaging in or attempting to engage in activities or transactions that materially facilitate or pose a significant risk of materially contributing to the international distribution of illicit drugs or their means of production. Based in Metepec, Estado de México, REI Compania Internacional regularly receives chemical shipments from exporters in the People’s Republic of China. OFAC simultaneously appointed the majority shareholder of the company, Eliseo de Leon Becerrafor being a director or officer of REI International.
In addition, OFAC today listed three siblings Ludim and Luis Alfonso Samudio Lerma for their association with Aceros y Refacciones del Humaya, SA de CV (Aceros y Refacciones del Humaya), which OFAC listed in February of this year under with EO 14059. Specifically, OFAC has listed Mexican citizens as Angel Guillermo Samudio Lerma, Daniel Samudio LermaAnd Jorge Alberto Samudio Lerma for being or having been leaders or officials of Aceros y Refacciones del Humaya. In addition to holding shares in Aceros y Refacciones del Humaya, each of the siblings holds positions related to the administration of the company.
Today’s action was closely coordinated with the Mexican government’s La Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (Mexican Financial Intelligence Unit) and is the result of continued collaboration with US government partners, including the FBI Phoenix Field Office (a permanent agency in Tucson), the FBI Legal Attaché in San Francisco. El Salvador (Guatemala City), FBI Washington Field Office Detachment CR3, Los Angeles FBI Strike Team, Tampa District Drug Enforcement Administration (“CHEMEX”), Special Agent for National Security Investigations (HSI), in charge in Phoenix, the HSI Field Office in Nogales, and the HSI Field Office in Spokane.
Among other charges, Oscar Noe Medina Gonzalez and Jerry Limon Elenes were charged with drug trafficking related to methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in April 2015 and April 2017, respectively. In February 2021, Nestor Isidro Pérez Salas was indicted in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on methamphetamine and cocaine drug trafficking charges and, among other things, conspiracy to retaliate against a witness. Additionally, in April 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York indicted Pérez Salas and Medina González. Medina Gonzalez, Lemon Elenes and Perez Salas are fugitives. Additionally, in April 2023, the State Department announced a reward for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Oscar Noe Medina Gonzalez and Nestor Isidro Pérez Salas.
SANCTIONS CONSEQUENCES
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in the property of these individuals and entities that are located in the United States or are owned or controlled by US persons are to be blocked and reported to OFAC. In addition, any organizations that are directly or indirectly owned by one or more blocked persons by 50 percent or more are also blocked. OFAC rules generally prohibit any transactions by persons within or within the United States (including transactions in transit through the United States) that involve any property or interests in the property of certain or otherwise blocked persons.
Today’s action is part of a nationwide effort to counter the global threat posed by drug trafficking to the United States, which kills tens of thousands of Americans every year, as well as countless non-fatal overdoses. . Last week, 85 countries and 13 international organizations virtually agreed to form the Global Coalition to Combat Synthetic Drug Threats, which is supporting more than 20 million Americans in their recovery process, working with law enforcement agencies around the world to disrupt and eliminate transnational criminal organizations and is offering more than 30 bounties totaling over US$75 million for information that will help bring fentanyl traffickers to justice through drug and transnational organized crime bounty programs.
The Treasury Department’s actions demonstrate the administration’s enhanced approach to saving lives by stopping the trafficking of fentanyl and its precursors into American communities. OFAC, in coordination with its US government partners and foreign counterparts, will continue to identify and prosecute foreign drug trafficking entities.
In addition, persons carrying out certain transactions with individuals and entities listed today may themselves be subject to sanctions or enforcement action.
The strength and integrity of OFAC’s sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add individuals to the Specially Designated Citizens and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), but also from its willingness to remove individuals from the SDN List in accordance with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to achieve positive behavioral change. For information on the process to request delisting from the OFAC list, including the SDN list, see OFAC FAQ 897. For details on the process to request delisting from the OFAC Sanctions List, click here.
View more information about individuals and entities appointed today.
Review the table of individuals and entities assigned today.
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