Treasury sanctions several Mexican nationals, Sinaloa Cartel members

By BETHANY BLANKLEY THE CENTER SQUARE CONTRIBUTOR

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned several Mexican nationals, Sinaloa Cartel members and six Mexico-based entities for their involvement in the illicit methamphetamine and fentanyl trade.

Its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) made the announcement Wednesday when identifying the Sinaloa Cartel’s role “as the preeminent facilitator of illicit fentanyl and other deadly drugs being trafficked into the United States.”

The ringleader of the group, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, the son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, was captured and arrested on Jan. 5, 2023, by Mexican authorities ahead of President Joe Biden’s trip to Mexico.

Roughly six weeks later, OFAC announced it was imposing sanctions on several Mexican nationals and entities. They include two ring leaders underneath Guzman Lopez, brothers Ludim Zamudio Lerma and Luis Alfonso Zamudio Lerma, for “diverting illicit precursor chemicals directly into the hands of Sinaloa Cartel members and laboratory operators.”

“The Zamudio Lerma brothers and their network enable the production of synthetic drugs that devastate American lives, while lining the pockets of Sinaloa Cartel leadership,” OFAC Director Andrea Gacki said in a statement.

“Depriving this network of access and resources will hinder the Sinaloa Cartel’s ability to produce and traffic the illicit drugs it depends on.”

Law enforcement officers have explained that precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl are shipped from China to Mexican ports, where cartels and their operatives manufacture them into fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl. They also lace other drugs with illicit fentanyl and through an elaborate network smuggle them into the U.S., primarily through the southern border, Border Patrol agents have told The Center Square.

The cartels manufacture fake pills and other drugs in “super labs,” which are “large-scale drug laboratories that produce 10 or more pounds of an illicit drug per production cycle,” specifically illicit fentanyl and methamphetamine for the Sinaloa Cartel, the Treasury Department explains.

Based in Sinaloa, Mexico, the brothers and Ludim Zamudio Lerma’s son, Ludim Zamudio Ibarra, supplied illicit precursor chemicals to high-level Sinaloa Cartel members, the Treasury Department said. The cartel members include Luis Gerardo Flores Madrid, who works directly for Ovidio Guzman Lopez, and lab operators Ernesto Machado Torres and Jose Santana Arredondo Beltran.

OFAC designated each of these men, pursuant to Executive Order 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.”

The Zamudio family owns numerous Mexico-based businesses, two of which were also designated under the order and sanctioned: Aceros y Refacciones del Humaya, S.A. de C.V. and Farmacia Ludim.

OFAC also designated and sanctioned two real estate

Please see SANCTIONS on A4

Participants in the Solvang Century Bike Ride will utilize portions of the state highway system within Santa Barbara County between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. March 4.

There are three lengths of rides, which include a 52-mile route, a 68-mile route, and a 101-mile route. The rides have sections that use the following state highways in Buellton, Lompoc, Orcutt and Los Alamos areas: State Route 1, State Route 135 and State Route 246.

No road, lane, or shoulder closures are permitted for the bike ride, according to Caltrans. There will be signage along the route informing the public of this event. For more information, call the Caltrans District 5 Public Affairs Office at 805-549-3237 or visit dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/ district-5.

— Katherine Zehnder Chimney

SANTA YNEZ — A chimney fire took place Wednesday evening in the 3000 block of Figueroa Mountain Road. Santa Barbara County firefighters responded to the Santa Ynez blaze, according to Capt. Scott Safechuck, the department’s public information officer. He said no injuries were reported and the cause is under investigation. Call time was 7:42 p.m.

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