WASHINGTON, D.C. — Parisa Lali was added to the Specially Designated Nationals List and is linked to Kavoshcom Asia R and D Group. Pedro Humberto Martinez Rodriguez was added to the Specially Designated Nationals List and is linked to the Sinaloa Cartel.

Lorenzo Castillo Maldonado was added to the Specially Designated Nationals List. Diosvany Samuel Chapotin Villalba was added to the Specially Designated Nationals List. Ilia Elizabeth Felix Rivera was added to the Specially Designated Nationals List. Hildegardo Gastelum Garcia was added to the Specially Designated Nationals List. Franklin Ernesto Huezo Hernandez was added to the Specially Designated Nationals List. Pedro Ariel Mendivil Garcia was added to the Specially Designated Nationals List. Francisco Javier Mendoza Uriarte was added to the Specially Designated Nationals List. Seyyed Asghar Alizadeh Tabatabai was added to the Specially Designated Nationals List.

In 2021, the Sinaloa Cartel was designated under Executive Order 14059 for its involvement in the international proliferation of illicit drugs, including fentanyl, and for its ties to the Kingpin Act as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker. In 2023, OFAC sanctioned Sumilab, S.A. de C.V. a Mexican chemical company linked to the Sinaloa Cartel’s fentanyl production, for supplying precursor chemicals. This action targeted the cartel’s supply chain and set a precedent for disrupting drug trafficking networks.

The Sinaloa Cartel’s fentanyl production capacity was significantly expanded through its control of clandestine labs in Sinaloa, Mexico, as noted in a 2025 OFAC report, which linked the cartel to over 600 deaths in turf wars with rival factions since September 2024. The Sinaloa Cartel's Los Chapitos faction, led by the sons of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman Loera, has been responsible for over 600 deaths in turf wars in Sinaloa since September 2024, showing the group's violent expansion and internal conflict. The Sinaloa Cartel has been linked to the use of Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE) schemes, such as those operated by the Marin brothers, to launder proceeds from fentanyl sales, allowing the cartel to reinvest in its operations and expand its influence.

Why It Matters

The action builds on prior steps that identified the cartel as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker in 2009, applied Executive Order sanctions in 2021 and 2025, and designated the organization as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February 2025. With the Los Chapitos faction designated in June 2025 and a 2025 OFAC report linking the cartel to more than 600 deaths in turf wars since September 2024, the latest designations fit within a documented pattern of targeting leadership, logistics, and financing across multiple jurisdictions.

Timeline

On April 15, 2009, the Sinaloa Cartel has been identified as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker since April 15, 2009, under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, indicating a long-standing history of drug trafficking and U.S. enforcement actions against its leadership. On February 20, 2025, the Sinaloa Cartel was designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) by the U.S. Department of State on February 20, 2025, marking its first FTO designation and showing its role in fentanyl trafficking and transnational violence. On June 9, 2025, the Sinaloa Cartel’s Los Chapitos faction, led by fugitive brothers Archivaldo Ivan and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, was designated by OFAC on June 9, 2025, for its role in fentanyl trafficking and violent control over drug distribution networks in Mexico.

On September 29, 2026, Ali Fotowat Ahmady is linked to Kavoshcom Asia R and D Group. On September 29, 2026, the US Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control designated individuals linked to the Sinaloa Cartel and Iranian military procurement networks on September 29, 2026. On September 29, 2026, Marco Antonio Moreno Gomez Santelices is linked to the Sinaloa Cartel.

On September 29, 2026, Ali Fotowat Ahmady was added to the Specially Designated Nationals List. On September 29, 2026, Rafael Buenrostro Martin is linked to the Sinaloa Cartel.

What's New

Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) enforces economic sanctions programs based on IEEPA, TWEA, and the Kingpin Act.

OFAC’s 2023 sanctions against the Favela Lopez family, including Victor Andres, Francisco, and Jorge Luis, targeted their network of chemical companies (e.g. Sumilab, Favelab) used to supply fentanyl precursors to the Sinaloa Cartel, demonstrating a pattern of targeting supply chain facilitators.

In 2025, Satishkumar Hareshbhai Sutaria and Yuktakumari Ashishkumar Modi, Indian-based suppliers of fentanyl precursors, were arrested by Indian authorities for their role in supplying chemicals to the Sinaloa Cartel, demonstrating the international reach of the cartel’s supply chain.

How Sources Differ

Reporting on the Sinaloa Cartel includes differing emphases. One account states that the Sinaloa Cartel’s fentanyl production capacity was significantly expanded through its control of clandestine labs in Sinaloa, Mexico, as noted in a 2025 OFAC report, which linked the cartel to over 600 deaths in turf wars with rival fact.