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.

“Not only have the welfare of [Zabaneh] and his family been gravely prejudiced since his August 7, 2012 designation, but on a much broader scale, so has the welfare of the hundreds of persons in Belize who lost their jobs as a collateral consequence of the designation action, and who continue to be unemployed in a region where fruit farming is a major source of employment,” the lawsuit said.