The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Donna Robert
The Treasury Department on Wednesday said it’s sanctioning six Mexicans accused of fueling fentanyl super labs by diverting chemicals directly into the hands of the powerful Sinaloa cartel.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control said two brothers, Ludim Zamudio Lerma and Luis Alfonso Zamudio Lerma, used their companies to supply precursor chemicals to large-scale laboratories that can produce 10 or more pounds of fentanyl, methamphetamine or another illicit drug in each production cycle.
U.S. officials have pointed to the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as the greatest criminal drug threats to the country.
They say the cartels use chemical ingredients to produce deadly fentanyl that can be trafficked into the U.S., often in the form of counterfeit pills that mimic authentic prescription drugs.
“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. “Depriving this network of access and resources will hinder the Sinaloa Cartel’s ability to produce and traffic the illicit drugs it depends on.”
Beyond the brothers, Treasury sanctioned Ludim Zamudio Lerma’s son and three Sinaloa operatives, including one who worked for Ovidio Guzman Lopez — the recently captured son of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera.
Under the sanctions, all property of the designated individuals that is in the U.S. or in the possession or control of Americans must be blocked and reported to OFAC. U.S. residents will also be prohibited from doing business with the sanctioned people.
Treasury officials described the action as part of a whole-of-government effort to crack down on the cartels, given the death toll from fentanyl poisoning in America. Roughly 70,000 of the 107,000 overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2021 were tied to fentanyl.
Some members of Congress say the U.S. must authorize military force against the cartels, putting them on par with rogue actors like the Islamic State.
