WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced the designation of two individuals and 24 entities with ties to previously-designated Guatemalan trafficker Marllory Dadiana Chacon Rossell or other designated individuals as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers (SDNTs).  Today’s action, taken pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act), prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with these entities and individuals and any assets the designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction are frozen.

The two individuals designated today are Guatemalan nationals Christina Stetanel Castellanos Chacon (a.k.a. Cristha Castellanos), who is Chacon Rossell’s daughter, and Maria Corina Saenz Lehnhoff (a.k.a. Maria Corina de Del Pinal).  Both are responsible for laundering narcotics proceeds on behalf of Marllory Chacon Rossell.  Among the 24 entities designated today are Auto Hotel Punto Cero, a hotel in Barberena, Guatemala; Sistemas Constructores, a construction company; Importadora Borrayo Lasmibat, an import-export company; Boutique Marllory, a clothing store and; Casa Vogue, a household items store.

“Targeting the corporate and financial network of Marllory Chacon and her associates is at the core of our efforts to degrade these dangerous drug trafficking organizations,” said OFAC Director Adam J. Szubin.  “By designating additional elements of the Chacon Rossell network, OFAC continues to undermine the organization’s ability to launder narcotics proceeds.”

Marllory Dadiana Chacon Rossell leads a drug trafficking and money laundering organization based out of Guatemala with operations in Honduras and Panama that supplies Mexican drug cartels, including Los Zetas.  OFAC designated Chacon Rossell as an SDNT in January 2012, along with three of her top associates, Jorge Andres Fernandez Carbajal, Hayron Eduardo Borrayo Lasmibat, and Mirza Silvana Hernandez De Borrayo, and four entities located in Guatemala and Panama.  Chacon Rossell is responsible for transshipping thousands of kilograms of cocaine per month and is believed to launder tens of millions of U.S. dollars in narcotics proceeds each month. 

OFAC coordinated with the Drug Enforcement Administration on this investigation.  Today’s action is part of ongoing efforts pursuant to the Kingpin Act to apply financial measures against significant foreign narcotics traffickers and their organizations worldwide. The Treasury Department has designated more than 1,100 individuals and entities pursuant to the Kingpin Act since June 2000. 

“DEA and the Treasury Department are attacking drug trafficking organizations at every level, using the law enforcement tools necessary to dismantle the financial networks of these dangerous criminal groups,” said DEA Chief of Financial Operations John Arvanitis.  “This organization's ability to launder drug trafficking proceeds will be severely hindered as a result of this designation.”

Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1.075 million per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million. Other individuals face up to 10 years in prison and fines pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act.

To view a chart of the Chacon Rossell affiliates, click here.

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