Three Belizean businessmen have been blacklisted by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). On Tuesday, August 7th, the State Department sent out a release under the heading “Treasury Targets Belize-Based Operatives of Chapo Guzman Sanctions Directed Against the John Zabaneh Drug Trafficking Organization Linked to the Sinaloa Cartel”.
The release goes on to explain “John Zabaneh and two members of his drug trafficking organization, who are based in Belize are key associates of Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman Loera, and other members of the Sinaloa Cartel.” The Sinaloa Cartel is reportedly the most powerful drug trafficking organization smuggling all manner of drugs including cocaine, methamphetamines, heroin and marijuana into the US.
Through the designation which was done by the U.S’ Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, persons are prohibited from conducting financial or commercial transactions with the individuals and their companies. Their assets that are held in U.S. jurisdiction are also frozen.
While Zabaneh is designated, so too are his nephew, Dion Zabaneh, and Daniel Moreno. The release is accompanied by an organ-gram which squarely lists John Zabaneh as the head of the Sinaloa Cartel operatives functioning in Belize. It also lists 4 of Zabaneh’s companies including Mayan King Ltd., which is one of the largest banana producers in the country. Also designated are Crown Paradise Enterprises LTD., which is a building contractor and property consultant company and Mid South Investments Ltd., a resort management and marina company. Also designated is Belize Chemicals Ltd., which is a pharmaceutical company. This company operates out of Belmopan while the other three out of the Stann Creek District. Along with Zabaneh’s company is D’s Supermarket Co. Ltd., which is owned by Moreno and operates in Corozal Town.
The release by the state department quotes the OFAC’s Director, Adam J. Szubin as saying, “John Zabaneh’s drug trafficking activities and his organization’s ties to Colombian sources of supply and Mexican buyers make him a critical figure in the narcotics trade. “By designating Zabaneh, OFAC is disrupting those activities and continuing its efforts, alongside those of our law enforcement partners, to expose operatives of Chapo Guzman and the Sinaloa Cartel, including their businesses.” According to the OFAC Zabaneh has been invovled in drug trafficking in Belize since 1980’s.
The release goes on to quote DEA Chief of Financial Operations John Arvanitis who stated that, “The OFAC, Designation of the Zabeneh organization is necessary to dismantle and further disrupt the operations of the Sinaloa Cartel in other parts of the world.”
The announcement by the State Department is a major one and is perhaps the first time that businessmen and their operations have been specifically named as being involved in the drug trade between Latin America and the U.S. Because of the large interests that the businesses hold in the country, in particular as it relates to the exportation of bananas, it is uncertain how the designation of the Zabaneh businesses will affect Belize’s economy.
According to the release by the State Department, the OFAC has designated more than 1,100 businesses and individuals linked to 97 kingpins since June 2000. For those found in violation of the Kingpin Act, there are heavy fines and penalites including millions of dollars and many years in prison.
