On June 6, 2023, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Alonso Guerrero Covarrubias and Javier Guerrero Covarrubias, two senior members of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (“CJNG”), a violent Mexico-based drug trafficking organization responsible for sending deadly drugs, including fentanyl, into the US. These senior members were designated for engaging in arms trafficking in the US and the theft of fuel in Mexico. OFAC also designated Mary Cruz Rodriguez Aguirre and her currency exchange house for laundering narcotics proceeds for the CJNG. Mary Cruz Rodriguez Aguirre reportedly works as a broker for CJNG regional commander Audias Flores Silva who was identified by OFAC in 2021 as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. The US Department of State has offered an award of up to $5 million for information leading so Silva’s arrest and/or conviction.
All of the new designations were imposed pursuant to Executive Order 14059, for engaging in activities or transactions that contribute to the international proliferation of illegal drugs or their means of production. According to OFAC, this action is the result of OFAC’s collaboration with the Government of Mexico and several US law enforcement agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, the US Drug Enforcement Administration, and the US Northern Command.
As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of designated individuals and entities within the United States or within the possession or control of a US person are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the designated persons unless authorized by OFAC. US persons may also face civil or criminal penalties for violating EO 14059.