HP-1109: Treasury Designates the Financial Network of Major Sinaloa <script type="text/javascript"> var wmNotice = "UNT Web Archive - External links, forms, and search boxes may not function within this collection. Url: http://www.treasury.gov/press/releases/hp1109.htm time: 20:34:31 May 14, 2009"; var wmHideNotice = "hide"; var contextRoot = "https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/"; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/js/disclaim.js"></script> <br>Cartel Operator Rigoberto Gaxiola Medina



	To view or print the PDF content on this page, download the free Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®. August 5, 2008 HP-1109 Treasury Designates the Financial Network of Major Sinaloa Cartel Operator Rigoberto Gaxiola Medina Washington, DC--The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today named 14 companies and 17 individuals tied to drug trafficking kingpin Rigoberto Gaxiola Medina as specially designated narcotics traffickers (SDNTs). The designees, all based in Mexico, are now subject to economic sanctions pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act. Rigoberto Gaxiola Medina, currently imprisoned in Mexico, is the leader of a major drug trafficking organization responsible for transporting thousands of tons of marijuana from Mexico into the Southwestern United States. His organization built and employed a network of underground tunnels to move drugs and cash between Mexico and the United States. As a gate-keeper for marijuana shipments entering the United States, Gaxiola's organization functions as a vital component of the Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman Loera drug trafficking organization and the Sinaloa Cartel. "We are sanctioning Rigoberto Gaxiola Medina's network of companies and associates to support and advance the Mexican authorities' important efforts against this criminal organization," said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin. The designation includes key Gaxiola associates Roque Duarte Munoz, Armando Aguirre Cardona, Juan Luis Guzman Enriquez and Juan Francisco Quintero Arce, all of whom were arrested in 2003 along with Rigoberto Gaxiola Medina by Mexican federal authorities. Another associate designated today, Sandra Lucero de Martinez, was arrested by U.S. law enforcement in 2005 and subsequently extradited to Mexico to face organized crime charges. All six individuals are currently imprisoned on a combination of convictions for organized crime and unlawful use of military-grade weapons. Despite the 2003 arrests, Rigoberto Gaxiola Medina's financial network for laundering drug proceeds has continued to function under the leadership of his family and close business associates, including his wife, Maria Del Rosario Garcia Duran, his sons Rigoberto Gaxiola Garcia and Carlos Alberto Gaxiola Garcia, and his daughter, Maria Elena Gaxiola Garcia, all of whom are also being designated today by OFAC. Other key associates designated by this action are Eleazar Fontes Moreno, Rafael Angel Valencia Jaime, and Ana Cristina Arce Borboa. The financial network designated by today's action is comprised of companies in the Mexican states of Sonora, Sinaloa, and Jalisco, including: 4 mining firms, Minera Rio Presidio, S.A. De C.V., Minera La Castellana y Anexas, S.A. De C.V., Copa de Plata, S.A. De C.V. and Compania Minera Del Rio Cianury, S.A. De C.V.; a car dealership, Distribuidora Gran Auto, S.A. De C.V.; and a private gym, Bioesport, S.A. De C.V. This action is part of ongoing efforts under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act to apply financial measures against significant foreign narcotics traffickers worldwide. More than 300 businesses and individuals associated with 75 drug kingpins have been designated pursuant to the Kingpin Act since June 2000. Today's designation would not have been possible without key support from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Resident Office in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico; DEA's Financial Operations Division; the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in San Diego; and the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona. Today's designation action freezes any assets the 31 designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. persons from conducting transactions or dealings in property interests of the designated individuals and entities. Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1,075,000 per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $5,000,000. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10,000,000. Other individuals face up to 10 years in prison for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act and fines pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code. -30- REPORTS Designation Chart