Several weeks ago we discussed the effect that OFAC designations can have in some unlikely places. That theme continues today as a recent NACLA report has found that the designation of John Zabaneh has cost the jobs of 1200 migrant workers in Belize.

John Zabaneh was designated pursuant to the Kingpin Act in 2012 for alleged ties with the notorious Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and an association with the Sinaloa Cartel. The action also included the designation of Zabaneh’s companies Mayan King Limited, Mid-South Investments Limited, Crown Paradise, Enterprises Limited and Belize Chemicals Limited.

Mayan King Limited was up until a few months ago the biggest banana farm in Belize. Earlier this year a severe drought wreaked havoc on many of the farms of Belize and one of the ones that was hit hardest was Mayan King. When reports of the hardship of the farm came out, Fyffes, a leading Irish bases importer of tropical fruits began importing Bananas from the farm. However as it was discovered that John Zabaneh was acting as the spokesperson for Mayan King, Fyffes stopped importing bananas due to the fears of the wrath of U.S. sanctions. Fyffes decision caused Mayan King to stop all operation.

The halt in operations came as a blow to the migrant workers who relied on the farm as a source of income. Mayan Farms employees 1200-2000 migrants families who work exclusively on the farm. Those families, which are made up of Guatemalan, Honduran, El Salvadorian and Nicaraguan migrants have now lost their only stream of revenue.

John Zabaneh himself has vehemently denied the charges against him and his place on the SDN list claiming that if he is indeed an affiliate of El Chapo, his listing would have had him killed by the drug cartel. Regardless of whether Zabaneh has a connection with El Chapo and the Sinaloa Cartel or not, his farm is suffering and the migrant workers have been staging protests throughout the past month. Mayan King has set up soup kitchen to help ease the hardship of the migrants for the time being. Whether Mayan King farm bounces back has yet to be seen but the situation in Belize is once again another example of the wide spread ramifications a U.S. sanctions designation can have on a larger community.