The US Department Of The Treasury Sanctions Culiacanense Linked To The Sinaloa And CJNG Cartels

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The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury imposed an economic sanction on Miguel Ángel Valdez Ruiz from Sinaloa for collaborating with the Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación cartels.

Ecuadorian drug trafficker Wilder Emilio Sánchez Farfán was also included on the blacklist. "Drug trafficking is a serious threat to Americans, international security and the financial system of the United States," Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in a statement. "Treasury is designating these two individuals for their support of one of the most dangerous criminal organizations in Mexico and for the delivery of cocaine to US markets."Miguel Angel Valdez Ruiz, residing in Culiacán, was designated for having participated or attempted to participate in activities or transactions that have materially contributed or present a significant risk of materially contributing to the international proliferation of illicit drugs or their means of production.

He is accused of importing cocaine from Ecuador, in a direct job with Sánchez Farfán. “Valdez Ruiz serves as an intermediary between Sánchez Farfán and Ismael Zambada García, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. Zambada Garcia, who was designated on December 15, 2021, pursuant to EO 14059, is the subject of a State Department Narcotics Rewards Program offer,” he indicates. “Valdez Ruiz has direct contact with Zambada García and is responsible for helping him receive Sánchez Farfán's cocaine from Ecuador. Valdez Ruiz uses his fleet of private planes to transport cocaine from Ecuador to Sinaloa. He coordinates with associates in Mexicali, Ensenada, and Tijuana, Mexico, the transportation of cocaine from Sinaloa to the southern California border and into the United States.”In 2019, a federal drug trafficking indictment was returned in the US District Court for the Southern District of California against Sánchez Farfán and Valdez Ruiz, who are currently at large from the charges.

The same sanction indicates that Sánchez Farfán is considered one of the most important drug traffickers in the world, works from Guayaquil and transports tons of cocaine by land from laboratories in southern Colombia to Ecuador, and then makes shipments by land, air and sea to through Central America, Mexico and, finally, the United States, the note states. “He is accused of providing cocaine to the Sinaloa Cartel and of having sent representatives to Mexico to meet with members of the Jalisco Nueva Generación Cartel (CJNG) to import drugs from Ecuador,” he adds.The sanction means that all property and interests in property of designated individuals or entities that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC and all transactions conducted by U.S. persons are prohibited. the US or persons within (or transiting) the United States involving any property or interest in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons.

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