Advertisement

U.S. targets Sinaloa Cartel 'super lab' suppliers with sanctions

The Treasury Department announced sanctions against two Mexican businessmen and four members of the Sinaloa Cartel on Wednesday. File Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI
1 of 2 | The Treasury Department announced sanctions against two Mexican businessmen and four members of the Sinaloa Cartel on Wednesday. File Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI | License Photo

Feb. 23 (UPI) -- The Biden administration on Wednesday placed sanctions on two Mexican businessmen and four members of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel in connection with the illicit methamphetamine and fentanyl trade that continues to flood the United States with illegal drugs.

Officials said Ludim Zamudio Lerma and Luis Alfonso Zamudio Lerma lead a network responsible for diverting precursor chemicals directly into the hands of the notorious cartel once led by Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman to supply so-called "super labs."

Advertisement

Also named in the sanctions were Zamudio Lerma's son Ludim Zamudio Ibarra, and cartel members Luis Gerardo Flores Madrid, who worked with the son of Guzman, Ovidio Guzman Lopez, Ernesto Machado Torres and Jose Santana Arredondo Beltran.

"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," said Andrea Gacki, director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

"Depriving this network of access and resources will hinder the Sinaloa Cartel's ability to produce and traffic the illicit drugs it depends on."

The Treasury Department said the Lerma brothers own various companies in Mexico, including Aceros y Refacciones del Humaya, S.A. de C.V. and Farmacia Ludim, which were also designated for sanctions because of their relation to the illegal drug trade.

Advertisement

Other businesses owned by the Lerma brothers named in the sanctions were their real estate businesses Inmobiliaria del Rio Humaya, S.A. de C.V. and Operadora Zait, S.A. de C.V., and two import/export companies, Operadoradel Humaya, S.A. de C.V. and Operadora Parque Alamedas, S. de R.L. de C.V.

The Biden administration said it fashioned the sanctions with the help of the Mexican government, the FBI and the FBI Attache in San Salvador.

Latest Headlines