Two more on U.S. Treasury's 'Kingpin' list

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WASHINGTON, June 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. Treasury Thursday froze the assets of two more people as part of Kingpin Act actions against alleged drug traffickers.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control named two key operatives of the Mexican crime organization known as the Sinaloa Cartel, Maria Alejandrina Salazar Hernandez and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, freezing any of their assets under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibiting Americans from conducting financial or commercial transactions with them, pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. They are the wife and son, respectively, of drug lord Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman Loera, the statement said.

The Kingpin Act was enacted in 1999, and is designed to deny suspected drug traffickers access to the U.S. financial system.

"Today marks the sixth time in the past year that OFAC has targeted and exposed operatives of the Chapo Guzman organization. This action builds on Treasury's aggressive efforts, alongside its law enforcement partners, to target individuals who facilitate Chapo Guzman's drug trafficking operations," OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin said in a statement Thursday.