In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in D.C. federal court, a Belizean banana farmer challenged the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to sanction him over his alleged ties to Mexican drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
John Zabaneh claims the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control’s decision to designate him as a narcotics trafficker in 2012 caused him, his family and businesses to “experience onerous obstacles in their day-to-day lives,” including the “deterioration” of his farm. Zabaneh, represented by D.C. lawyer Erich Ferrari, said Treasury is unreasonably delaying his administrative appeal and provided limited information on why he received the designation.
