US Adds Chino Antrax to Kingpin List

Borderland Beat

Action Targets "Chino Antrax" Leader of Los Antrax organization and a major Sinaloa Cartel narcotics trafficker

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced the designation of Jose Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa, a.k.a. Chino Antrax, a Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico-based senior lieutenant of the Sinaloa Cartel.  OFAC designated Arechiga Gamboa for his role in controlling Los Antrax, an extremely violent arm of the Ismael "Mayo" Zambada Garcia organization and for playing a significant role in international drug trafficking. 

Pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act), this designation generally prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with Arechiga Gamboa, and also freezes any assets he may have under U.S. jurisdiction. 

Arechiga Gamboa controls Los Antrax, which provides personal security and protection for Zambada Garcia and his family, and is also responsible for targeting and eliminating rivals of Zambada Garcia.
 

Arechiga Gamboa also handles transportation and logistical issues for Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman Loera.  Additionally, Arechiga Gamboa worked with Sinaloa Cartel lieutenant Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza, a.k.a. Macho Prieto. Mexican authorities killed Inzunza Inzunza on December 18, 2013. 

On December 20, 2013, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of California returned a sealed indictment charging Arechiga Gamboa with multiple narcotics trafficking violations.

Ten days later, on December 30, 2013, Dutch authorities arrested Arechiga Gamboa at the airport after arriving in Amsterdam.  The indictment was unsealed on January 3, 2014 and the United States is currently seeking his extradition to California. 

"Jose Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa represents the next generation of hyper violent drug traffickers who carry out the activities of Mayo Zambada and the Sinaloa Cartel," said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin.  "In today's designation, OFAC is once again broadcasting to Zambada and his associates that the United States is off-limits to their illicit funds."

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Joaquin Guzman Loera, Ismael Zambada Garcia, the Sinaloa Cartel, and Gonzalo Inzunza Inzunza were identified by the President as significant foreign narcotics traffickers pursuant to the Kingpin Act in 2001, 2002, 2009, and 2011, respectively.

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Today's action is taken with the support of the Drug Enforcement Administration, specifically DEA-San Diego and DEA-Phoenix, the U.S. Attorneys' Office for the Southern District of California (San Diego), and the Government of Mexico.

Since June 2000, the President has identified 103 drug kingpins, and OFAC has designated more than 1300 entities and individuals, pursuant to the Kingpin Act.  Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1.075 million 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 million.  Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million.  Other individuals could face up to 10 years in prison and fines pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act.

Department of Treasury Press Release