US Government Lifts Economics Sanctions Against Rafael Caro Quintero's Family and Businesses

"Morogris" for Borderland Beat; TY to "Parro"

Last week, US authorities ordered the forfeiture of 5 properties in Mexico owned by Rafael Caro Quintero. The US will seek to enforce this order through diplomatic means, as reported by Borderland Beat.

The four children and the ex-wife of Rafael Caro Quintero, as well as dozens of business partners associated with them, have been removed from the sanctioned list of the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), a financial intelligence and enforcement agency of the US Department of the Treasury.

Anyone sanctioned under the OFAC's Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act) is excluded from the US financial system. Any U.S. citizens or entity is prohibited from engaging in business activities with them, and all their U.S.-based assets are frozen.

In June 2013, the OFAC sanctioned six of Caro Quintero’s family members, including his children -- Hector Rafael Caro Elenes, Roxana Elizabeth Caro Elenes, Henoch Emilio Caro Elenes, and Mario Yibran Caro Elenes -- his wife, Maria Elizabeth Elenes Lerma, and his daughter-in-law, Denisse Buenrostro Villa.

The US government announce that they were removed from the OFAC's list yesterday but did not explain why. Borderland Beat consulted the OFAC's website and confirmed that to be removed from the list, designees must petition OFAC and demonstrate that they no longer meet the criteria to be designated under the Kingpin Act.

Companies

Dozens of companies that were originally sanctioned were removed from the list. The vast majority of them are located in Jalisco, where Caro Quintero made an illicit fortune, but others are also located in Guanajuato, Sinaloa and Veracruz.

These are companies that are dedicated to the real estate, gas, and agriculture, in addition to those that produce and trade organic fertilizer and pesticides. There are also multiple shoe stores located in various shopping malls in Guadalajara.

1. SAL DE PUNTO AZUL, S.A. DE C.V.
2. DESARROLLOS BIO GAS, S.A. DE C.V.
3. ECA ENERGETICOS, S.A. DE C.V.
4. SAL ORGÁNICA, S.A. DE C.V.
5. PETRO BIO, S. DE R.L. DE C.V
6. PRONTO SHOES, S.A. DE C.V.
7. CX INSPIRA (alias CX MILAN GUADALAJARA; alias CX MODA; alias CX-SHOES; alias PRONTO SHOES, S.A. DE C.V.)
8. CX MODA (alias CX INSPIRA; alias CX MILAN GUADALAJARA; alias CX-SHOES; alias PRONTO SHOES, S.A. DE C.V.).
9. CX MILAN GUADALAJARA (alias CX INSPIRA; alias CX MODA; alias CX-SHOES; alias PRONTO SHOES, S.A. DE C.V.).
10. CX-SHOES (alias CX INSPIRA; alias CX MILAN GUADALAJARA; alias CX MODA; alias PRONTO SHOES, S.A. DE C.V.).
11. REFORESTACIONES CARELES, S. DE P.R. DE R.L.
12. HACIENDA LAS LIMAS, S.A. DE C.V.
13. EVCOMER, S.A. DE C.V.
14. EL BANO DE MARIA, S. DE R.L. DE C.V.
15. BARSAT, S.A. DE C.V.
16. DESARROLLADORA SAN FRANCISCO DEL RINCON, S.A. DE C. V.
17. DINERMAS, S. DE R.L. DE C.V.
18. ENERGETICOS VAGO, S.A. DE C.V.
19. ESTACION DE SERVICIO ATEMAJAC, S.A. DE C.V.
20. FORTANAS, S. DE R.L. DE C.V.
21. GRUPO BARSATERRA S.A. DE C.V.
22. GRUPO ESPANOL ELCAR, S.A. DE C.V.
23. MINERALES NUEVA ERA, S.A. DE C.V. (alias DIATOMAG; alias DIATOMKILL)
24. MINERALES NUEVA GENERACION, S.A. DE C.V.
25. NUEVA TERRA, S. DE R.L. DE C.V.
26. OPERADORA ENGO, S.C.
27. PETRO MAS, S. DE R.L. DE C.V.
28. PROMI FEL, S. DE R.L. DE C.V.
29. VILLAS DEL COLLI S.A. DE C.V.
30. INMOBILIARIA PROMINENTE, S.A. DE C.V.
31. PETRO LONDON, S. DE R.L. DE C.V.
32. SERVICIO Y OPERADORA SANTA ANA, S.A. DE C.V.
33. TAXI AEREO NACIONAL DE CULIACAN, S.A.
34. ARRENDADORA TURIN, S.A. 

US Treasury Department Chart from June 2013. Several of the individuals and entities listed here were moved from the sanctioned list this weekend.

Background

Caro Quintero, the former leader of the Guadalajara Cartel, is wanted for the 1985 murder of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique Camarena Salazar.

In 2013, he was freed from a Mexican state jail on a legal technicality, but an arrest warrant was issued by federal authorities a few months after his release. He is currently a fugitive and is believed to be in hiding in Mexico.

If Caro Quintero is ever arrested in Mexico, officials say he will likely be extradited to the US. In the US, he is wanted for kidnapping and murder of a US federal officer, as well as drug trafficking, money laundering and for leading a continuous criminal enterprise.

The US government is offering a US$20 million bounty for his capture. This is the highest reward the U.S. offers for a Mexican criminal.

Sources: Milenio; Infobae; USDOT (1); (2); Government Accountability Office (Pg. 32)