U.S. Treasury Disrupts Sinaloa Cartel Narco-Terrorist Fentanyl Trafficking Operations
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Wednesday more than a dozen individuals and entities, comprising two distinct networks, linked to the terrorist Sinaloa Cartel and its fentanyl trafficking activities.
Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles (Ojeda Aviles) leads a network involved in laundering the proceeds of fentanyl and other narcotics trafficking activities on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel. Jesus Gonzalez Penuelas (Gonzalez Penuelas), a fugitive from justice, heads a longstanding organization involved in trafficking illicit drugs into the United States and laundering funds for the Sinaloa Cartel. The violent Sinaloa Cartel is a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) responsible for a significant portion of the illicit fentanyl trafficked into the United States that kills tens of thousands of Americans each year.
“As President Trump has made clear, this Administration will not allow narco-terrorists to flood our borders with poison,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Treasury will continue to target terrorist cartels and their fentanyl trafficking networks to protect our communities and Keep America Safe.”
Today’s action reflects the culmination of a coordinated Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF)-led investigation involving the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). OFAC works in close coordination with the HSTFs, which target the proliferation of illicit drugs and the networks, enablers, and financial mechanisms that support their production and distribution. These sanctions were further coordinated with the Government of Mexico’s financial intelligence unit, the Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera.
OFAC sanctioned the persons in this action pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14059, which targets the proliferation of illicit drugs and their means of production, and pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, which targets terrorists and their supporters.
The terrorist Sinaloa Cartel is one of the oldest and most powerful cartels in Mexico and represents a major threat to the United States. The Sinaloa Cartel was identified by the United States as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker on April 15, 2009 pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). On December 15, 2021, OFAC also designated the Sinaloa Cartel pursuant to E.O. 14059. The Sinaloa Cartel has trafficked fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and other illicit drugs into the United States and engaged in widespread violence. On February 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of State designated the Sinaloa Cartel as an FTO and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.
Collectively referred to as Los Chapitos, the four sons of incarcerated Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera —Archivaldo Ivan Guzman Salazar (Ivan), Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar (Alfredo), Ovidio Guzman Lopez (Ovidio), and Joaquin Guzman Lopez (Joaquin)—consolidated control over, and assumed leadership of, the Sinaloa Cartel following their father’s capture, extradition, and conviction in the United States on drug trafficking charges.
Although Ovidio and Joaquin are now in U.S. custody, Ivan and Alfredo remain at large and lead the Los Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. This faction’s dominance over fentanyl trafficking is largely the result of its capacity to procure precursor chemicals, while also controlling production via its secret laboratories in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Since September 2024, turf wars between Los Chapitos and its rivals have engulfed Sinaloa, resulting in the deaths of over 600 people. Ivan and Alfredo were previously designated on May 8, 2012 and June 7, 2012 pursuant to the Kingpin Act, in 2021 pursuant to E.O. 14059, and in June 2025 pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended. On June 9, 2025, OFAC designated Los Chapitos pursuant to counterterrorism and counternarcotics authorities.
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