OFAC sanctions Mexican drug cartel boss and seven of his supporters under Kingpin Act

On September 22, 2021, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Mexican national Sergio Valenzuela Valenzuela, a Sinaloa Cartel boss who manages a drug trafficking corridor in Mexico and has smuggled multi-ton quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl from Mexico into the US.  Valenzuela Valenzuela, who OFAC identified as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act), reports directly to Ismael Zambada Garcia, the Sinaloa Cartel’s leader who was identified as a significant narcotics trafficker under the Kingpin Act in 2002. Valenzuela Valenzuela also remains a fugitive from federal drug trafficking charges brought in Southern California in 2018.  OFAC also designated seven other Mexican nationals who provided material support to Valenzuela Valenzuela and his drug trafficking operation, and designated two companies in Mexico that are owned or controlled by two of Valenzuela Valenzuela’s sanctioned supporters.

Department of Treasury Press Release