OFAC Sanctions Belgians, Mexican National for Drug Trafficking

Three Belgian nationals and one Mexican national were sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control this week for their role in international drug trafficking, including cocaine and fentanyl. The designations target Othman El Ballouti, Younes El Ballouti and Youssef Ben Azza, three Belgians involved in an international criminal organization that smuggles “significant quantities” of cocaine in shipping containers through Belgium’s Port of Antwerp. OFAC also sanctioned Mexican Franco Tabarez Martinez, a narcotics trafficker in Guerrero, Mexico, who works with sanctioned La Nueva Familia Michoacana drug-trafficking organization and distributes cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine to the U.S.