The U.S. announced financial sanctions against Los Mendoza, Los Huistas and Los Lorenzanas. Only Los Lorenzanas received a separate foreign terrorist designation.
The United States announced terrorism-related sanctions against three Guatemalan drug trafficking groups on November 13, targeting networks it says help Mexican cartels move drugs across borders. The Treasury Department imposed financial sanctions on Los Mendoza and Los Huistas, while the State Department announced financial sanctions and a separate Foreign Terrorist Organization designation for Los Lorenzanas. Only Los Lorenzanas received that additional designation, which was scheduled to take effect upon publication in the Federal Register on November 16. ofac.treasury.gov
Treasury says Los Mendoza helps the Sinaloa Cartel move drugs through Guatemala and Honduras by providing access to border crossings, clandestine airstrips, warehouses and local protection networks. U.S. officials identified operations in the Guatemalan departments of San Marcos, Huehuetenango and Petén. They also accused the family-based group of contract killings, money laundering and land dispossession. Los Mendoza was added to the U.S. sanctions list under both drug trafficking and counterterrorism authorities.
Los Huistas had already been under U.S. drug trafficking sanctions since 2022. The new designation targets its alleged logistical support for both the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Treasury’s earlier sanctions notice traced one cocaine route from Huehuetenango into Chiapas, Mexico, and attributed its oversight to Los Huistas leader Aler Baldomero Samayoa Recinos. The same notice said a federal grand jury in the Southern District of California indicted another leader, Eugenio Darío Molina López, on drug trafficking charges in 2019. home.treasury.gov
The State Department described Los Lorenzanas as a major Guatemalan drug trafficking clan and accused it of violence against civilians, government officials and military personnel. The financial sanctions block assets in the United States or under the control of U.S. persons and generally prohibit U.S. persons from doing business with the designated groups unless authorized or exempt. The restrictions also apply to businesses owned 50% or more, directly or indirectly, by one or more blocked parties, even if those businesses are not individually named on the sanctions list.
