U.S. Department of Treasury targets accused Belize-Based operatives of Chapo Guzman
On Tuesday, August 7th the U.S. Department of Treasury based in Washington, D.C. issued an unprecedented and very bold sanction via a press release against three prominent Belizean businessmen. The men, namely John Zabaneh, his nephew Dion Zabaneh and his alleged close business partner Daniel Moreno are singled out as being Belize's key associates and Belize-based operatives of Joaquin " El Chapo" Guzman Loera, who is linked to the Mexican-based Sinaloa Cartel. The statement came in shortly after 9AM after it was posted on the website of the U.S. Department of Treasury. The release states that, "The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today (August 7th) announced the designation of John Zabaneh and two members of his drug trafficking organization, who are based in Belize and are key associates of Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman Loera and other members of the Sinaloa Cartel. The action also includes the designation of five companies in Belize that are owned or controlled by John Zabaneh or members of his organization." The actions by the U.S. Department of Treasury is in pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act), which prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with the individuals and companies pointed out in the release and also freezes any assets they may have under U.S. jurisdiction.

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I think Uncle Sam needs to get it's agenda cleared up - are drugs ok or not.

IF NOT OK - arrest every person using or selling them in the US, prosecute and punish.
Further, provide decent educational opportunities to the youth, cultivate employment opportunities --- we can soon find out which came first, the ghetto (and thence the gangs) or the drugs. Methinks that whilst the drugs surely don't aid any efforts to get out of the ghetto, they did not cause the poverty that created them.
Do the above and Mr. Guzman will find another customer or will go out of business. Expensive - sure, but probably not as expensive as what is being done now outside the US.

IF OK - legalize, tax. Use the tax money to educate, and let people live the way they want to live.


As of today the results of this move against Mr. Zab are that 700 Belizean households went without a payday. Just how this benefits anybody other than the current politicos in the US is beyond me.

This approach is not smart, and it's not working.

(PS - I have never ever seen a good thing happen as a result of cocaine, which is I believe the drug that is the subject of this operation)