The White House, President George W. Bush Click to print this document

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 12, 2007

Statement by the Press Secretary

Today, as a demonstration of the President's commitment to both U.S.-Mexico security cooperation and the struggle against drug trafficking, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took steps to disrupt the financial underpinnings of a Mexican drug organization. OFAC designated 23 individuals and 19 businesses throughout Mexico for serving as front companies for Mexico's Sinaloa drug organization. This designation, carried out under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, blocks the designated individuals and businesses from doing business with U.S. persons or using the U.S. financial system. With this designation, the United States is exposing and sanctioning a principal money laundering organization and attacking the financial underpinnings of the Sinaloa drug organization.

The United States remains committed to doing all it can to support Mexico's efforts to break the power and impunity of drug organizations and to strengthen Mexico's capabilities to deal with these common threats, as well as enhance cooperation as outlined in the March 2007 Joint U.S.-Mexico Communiqué in Merida.

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