Action Taken in Coordination with U.S., Mexican, and Guatemalan Partners
WASHINGTON – Today, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Lopez Human Smuggling Organization (Lopez HSO), a transnational criminal organization (TCO) based in Guatemala. Human smuggling is a federal crime that includes bringing migrants into the United States illegally, as well as unlawfully transporting and harboring migrants already in the country. Working with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) components and other U.S. and foreign partners, OFAC sanctions aim to disrupt and ultimately dismantle these networks’ operations, which threaten the national security of the United States.
“The Lopez HSO sought to smuggle thousands of migrants into the United States through an illegal transnational operation that exploited those in search of a better life for themselves and their families,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “Building off of our three actions against human smuggling operations just this month, Treasury, in coordination with our Mexican and Guatemalan partners and as part of our whole-of-government approach, will continue to disrupt the organizations and networks that seek to profit from these criminal activities.”
Today’s action was conducted in close coordination with Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) El Paso Field Office, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, the HSI Human Smuggling Unit, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center, under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force program. Additionally, OFAC coordinated this action with the Government of Mexico, including La Unidad de Inteligencia Financiera (UIF), Mexico’s financial intelligence unit.
DISRUPTING THE LOPEZ HUMAN SMUGGLING ORGANIZATION (HSO)
Today, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico also announced an indictment against the leader of the Lopez HSO, Ronaldo Galindo Lopez Escobar (Lopez Escobar), as well as his son, Whiskey Hans Lopez Ambrosio (Lopez Ambrosio), Lopez Ambrosio’s wife, Karen Stefany Hernandez Vanegas (Hernandez Vanegas), and five other individuals for conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens. As part of this indictment, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico also filed a criminal forfeiture order against Lopez Escobar pursuant to 8 U.S. Code § 1324 (bringing in and harboring certain aliens).
The Lopez HSO is led by Guatemalan nationals, Lopez Escobar, Lopez Ambrosio, and Hernandez Vanegas. Since about 2017, the organization has smuggled thousands of individuals from Guatemala, through Mexico, and into the United States. While the organization has operated primarily in New Mexico, Arizona, and California, their operations have also included parts of Texas, along with migrants being transported to Virginia and other states far from the U.S.-Mexico border.
In May 2023, a federal grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico returned an indictment against Lopez Escobar, and other individuals, for conspiracy to bring in, transport, and harbor illegal aliens. The following month, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico and the Special Agent in Charge of HSI, El Paso, announced the unsealing of the indictment, as well as the arrest of six alleged human smugglers, in a coordinated, multistate enforcement operation that included arrests in Arizona and California.
As part of its human smuggling operations, the Lopez HSO purchased fraudulent Mexican documents and paid cartel fees to facilitate the movement of migrants through Mexico. As their business grew, the organization acquired buses to transport greater numbers of migrants to the United States. In addition to the transport of individuals, the organization was responsible for operating stash houses along the Southwest Border where migrants were housed illegally. The leaders of the organization relied on several U.S. banks and money service businesses to receive payment from the family members of those being smuggled and to pay other members of the organization, located in Mexico and Guatemala, for their smuggling services.
OFAC’s action today sanctioned the Lopez HSO pursuant to Executive Order 13581, as amended by E.O. 13863 (hereafter, “E.O. 13581, as amended”), for being a foreign person that constitutes a significant TCO. OFAC sanctioned Lopez Escobar, Lopez Ambrosio, and Hernandez Vanegas pursuant to E.O. 13581, as amended, for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Lopez HSO.
PREVIOUS TREASURY ACTIONS AGAINST HUMAN SMUGGLING ORGANIZATIONS
Today’s action builds on several actions that OFAC has taken in the last year to address the national security threat posed by human smuggling. On July 18, 2024, OFAC sanctioned the Abdul Karim Conteh Human Smuggling Organization, a Tijuana, Mexico-based HSO. On July 11, 2024, OFAC sanctioned Tren de Aragua, a Venezuela-based TCO engaging in human smuggling and trafficking, gender-based violence, money laundering, illicit drug trafficking, and other criminal activities. On December 14, 2023, OFAC sanctioned the Malas Mañas TCO and several of its members. The Malas Mañas TCO is a human smuggling and narcotics trafficking organization based in Sonora, Mexico, with operations across the Southwest Border. Additionally, on June 16, 2023, OFAC sanctioned the Hernandez Salas TCO and its leader, among others. The Hernandez Salas TCO, based in Mexicali, Mexico, has facilitated thousands of illegal entries into the United States since at least 2018. All of these actions were taken pursuant to E.O. 13581, as amended.
Furthermore, on January 13, 2023, FinCEN issued an alert providing trends, typologies, and red flag indicators to help financial institutions better identify and report transactions potentially related to human smuggling along the U.S. Southwest Border. This alert followed an increase in attempted illegal border crossings in 2021 and 2022.
SANCTIONS IMPLICATIONS
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons. U.S. persons may face civil or criminal penalties for violations of E.O. 13581, as amended.
In addition, financial institutions and other persons that engage in certain transactions or activities with the sanctioned entities and individuals may expose themselves to sanctions or be subject to an enforcement action. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.