US Sanctions 11 Individuals and 4 Entities Tied to Sinaloa Cartel Fentanyl Networks

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2026 — The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated 11 individuals and four entities linked to the Sinaloa Cartel’s fentanyl trafficking and money-laundering networks, per an OFAC notice released today.

The individuals designated are Armando de Jesus Ojeda Aviles, Jesus Gonzalez Penuelas, Fredi Ismael Garcia Sandoval, Luis Arnulfo Moreno Zamora and seven others. The four entities are Gorditas Chiwas and Grupo Especial Mamba Negra plus two additional unnamed networks.

All were sanctioned under Executive Order 14059, which targets foreign narcotics traffickers, and counter-terrorism authorities. The Sinaloa Cartel was designated a foreign terrorist organization in February 2025, having previously been added to the Kingpin Act list in 2009 and sanctioned under E.O. 14059 in 2021.

The designations immediately block all property and interests in property of the listed parties that are in the United States or in the possession or control of any U.S. person. U.S. persons are now prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them.

The action updates and expands existing sanctions on Los Chapitos-related networks responsible for producing and smuggling fentanyl into the United States.

Downstream, banks and financial institutions must freeze any accounts or assets tied to the designees and report them to OFAC. Companies conducting due diligence in Mexico or along the southwest border must add the names and entities to screening lists, triggering compliance reviews.

The designations also open the door for secondary sanctions on any foreign parties that continue to provide material support to these networks, requiring foreign banks and suppliers to decide whether to sever ties or risk their own exposure to the U.S. financial system.

This is the latest in a series of OFAC actions that have layered counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism sanctions on Sinaloa Cartel leadership and logistics cells since the group’s formal designation as a foreign terrorist organization in February 2025.

The cartel’s fentanyl precursors, production labs and distribution routes into the United States have been the repeated focus of parallel Treasury and Justice Department efforts since 2021.

Primary sources: U.S. Treasury — OFAC