The United States Department of the Treasury has disclosed that it has imposed sanctions on the Guatemalan drug trafficking organization, Los Pochos. Additionally, sanctions are being placed on companies and individuals who have abetted Los Pochos in their illicit activities.
According to a press release by the Department of the Treasury, three members and four affiliated companies based in Guatemala have been sanctioned for their association with the organization. The recent sanction is a response to members of the organization exerting direct influence over local Guatemalan politics and a leadership change within the organization. Los Pochos reportedly supplies large quantities of cocaine to Sinaloa Cartel leaders in Mexico, who then transport the cocaine into the United States through existing transportation infrastructure.
This is not an inaugural sanction against Los Pochos. In 2019, the first sanction was placed on the organization under the Kingpin Act, due to its involvement in cocaine trafficking from Guatemala through Mexico and into the United States. Salvador Suñiga Rodriguez, former mayor of Ayutla municipality, used his position to control narcotic trafficking activities along the border. He was charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office with trafficking cocaine to the United States and was extradited to the US in December 2019. According to another press release by the department, these sanctions dictate that all property and interests of sanctioned entities within U.S jurisdiction are to be blocked and reported to OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control).
Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson stated: "The Los Pochos DTO (Drug Trafficking Organization), relying on a network of corrupt officials, has continued to facilitate the flow of illicit drugs from Guatemala into Mexico and the United States." Nelson added: "Treasury, in close coordination with our law enforcement partners, will continue to leverage our tools to disrupt these facilitation networks and deadly drug flows." These sanctions form part of the Government's strategy to counter the global threat that illicit drug trafficking poses to the United States. Drug trafficking reportedly causes over 100,000 deaths in America annually.
