Treasury
Continues Targeting Sinaloa Cartel Leader Ismael Zambada Garcia
1/8/2014
Action
Targets "Chino Antrax" Leader of Los Antrax organization and a major
Sinaloa Cartel narcotics trafficker
WASHINGTON
– The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)
today announced the designation of Jose Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa, a.k.a. Chino
Antrax, a Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico-based senior lieutenant of the Sinaloa
Cartel. OFAC designated Arechiga Gamboa
for his role in controlling Los Antrax, an extremely violent arm of the Ismael
"Mayo" Zambada Garcia organization and for playing a significant role
in international drug trafficking.
Pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act),
this designation generally prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or
commercial transactions with Arechiga Gamboa, and also freezes any assets he
may have under U.S. jurisdiction.
Arechiga
Gamboa controls Los Antrax, which provides personal security and protection for
Zambada Garcia and his family, and is also responsible for targeting and
eliminating rivals of Zambada Garcia.
Arechiga Gamboa also handles transportation and logistical issues for
Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman Loera. Additionally, Arechiga Gamboa worked with
Sinaloa Cartel lieutenant Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza, a.k.a. Macho Prieto. Mexican
authorities killed Inzunza Inzunza on December 18, 2013.
On
December 20, 2013, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of California
returned a sealed indictment charging Arechiga Gamboa with multiple narcotics
trafficking violations. Ten days later,
on December 30, 2013, Dutch authorities arrested Arechiga Gamboa at the airport
after arriving in Amsterdam. The
indictment was unsealed on January 3, 2014 and the United States is currently
seeking his extradition to California.
"Jose
Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa represents the next generation of hyper violent drug
traffickers who carry out the activities of Mayo Zambada and the Sinaloa
Cartel," said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. "In today's designation, OFAC is once
again broadcasting to Zambada and his associates that the United States is
off-limits to their illicit funds."
Joaquin
Guzman Loera, Ismael Zambada Garcia, the Sinaloa Cartel, and Gonzalo Inzunza
Inzunza were identified by the President as significant foreign narcotics
traffickers pursuant to the Kingpin Act in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2011,
respectively.
Today's
action is taken with the support of the Drug Enforcement Administration,
specifically DEA-San Diego and DEA-Phoenix, the U.S. Attorneys' Office for the
Southern District of California (San Diego), and the Government of Mexico.
Since
June 2000, the President has identified 103 drug kingpins, and OFAC has
designated more than 1300 entities and individuals, pursuant to the Kingpin
Act. 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.
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