On June 9, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Los Chapitos, a powerful and violent faction of the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel led by the four sons of Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán Loera, for engaging in the production of and trafficking of fentanyl to the United States. OFAC also designated Archivaldo Ivan Guzmán Salazar (“Ivan”) and Jesus Alfredo Guzmán Salazar (“Alfredo”), two fugitive sons of El Chapo who currently lead Los Chapitos. OFAC reported that El Chapo’s other two sons – Ovidio Guzman Lopez and Joaquin Guzman Lopez – are in U.S. custody. The U.S. Department of State, through its Narcotics Rewards program, is offering up to $10 million each for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Ivan and Alfredo.
OFAC also targeted the Mazatlán cell, an important cell of Los Chapitos that supports the group’s violent and criminal activities in the Mazatlán region of Sinaloa, Mexico, including drug trafficking, murder, kidnapping, and the production of fentanyl. OFAC designated a total of three key individuals associated with the cell and 10 business owned or controlled by one of the newly-designated cell members.
The Sinaloa Cartel is one of several Mexican cartels identified by the Department of State as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist on February 20, 2025. The Sinaloa Cartel was first designated by OFAC in 2009 pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (“Kingpin Act”) and then again in 2021 under EO 14059, which targets the proliferation of illicit drugs and their means of production. Ivan and Alfredo were also previously designated by OFAC in May 2012 and June 2012 pursuant to the Kingpin Act and in 2021 pursuant to EO 14059.
All of the new designations were issued pursuant to EO 14059 and EO 13224, as amended, which targets terrorists and their supporters. As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of the designated person within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving a designated person. Entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.
U.S. Department of Treasury Press Release | OFAC Chart – Sinaloa Cartel Los Chapitos – Mazatlán Network | U.S. Department of State – Reward for Ivan Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar | U.S. Department of State – Reward for Jesus Alfredo Guzmán Salazar