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With new politicians in power, cartels ramped up violence against the government in an effort to reestablish their hold [PDF] on the state. by Stephen Sestanovich 0:36. More than 100 flights were cancelled at local airports as a result. Justine Goldbas, 32, was travelling on a bus through Sinaloa on her way back home to Los Angeles with her husband and eight-year-old son - just before the riots began on Thursday. Experts point to both domestic and international forces. The US had put out a reward of up to $5m (4.2m) for information leading to his arrest or conviction, as well as that of three of his brothers who are also thought to have kept their positions of command in the group. "The Sinaloa Cartels criminal activity in the Cuidad Juarez and El Paso area included the violence that occurred during the war between the Juarez Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, which led to the death of thousands of people in Ciudad Juarez and throughout the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Durango," U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas officials said in a news release. Sinaloa Cartel Leader Hunted After Killing Priests, Baseball Players and US Tourist. . More:Sinaloa cartel members, law enforcement testify in 2nd week of 'Wedding Murders' trial. At the time, the power of the Colombian cartels was declining, partly because of the deaths of various drug lords, notably Pablo Escobar (died 1993), and the U.S. crackdown on drug trafficking in the Caribbean, then the preferred route for transporting drugs into the United States. Renewing America, Backgrounder They allegedly maintained a network of couriers, tunnels, and stash houses throughout Mexico and the United States to further their drug-trafficking activities. The incident prompted mass demonstrations, with protesters demanding answers about the abductions and expressing their exhaustion with Mexicos endemic corruption, violence, and other crime. According to reports at the time, it was responsible for the majority of illegal drugsnotably marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetaminesthat were smuggled from Mexico into its northern neighbour, and in 2015 U.S. officials claimed that Sinaloa controlled the drug markets in almost every state. The initiative has evolved to reflect the priorities of national leaders. Sinaloa cartel, international crime organization that is among the most-powerful drug-trafficking syndicates in the world. President Biden inherited a tense security relationship with Mexico, with bilateral cooperation focused mostly on migration, COVID-19, and trade. Retired El Paso DEA leader gives somber view of drug problem. At least 29 people lay dead, including 10 members of the military and 19 alleged cartel shooters, while 35 soldiers were wounded. The Beltran Leyva brothers were also at the center of the Sinaloa Cartel's security operations. And in 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized more than 50 million fentanyl-laced pills, more than double the amount collected the year prior, the Justice Department said. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. "Law Enforcement also took possession of millions of dollars in drug proceeds which were destined to be returned to the Cartel in Mexico. Suspect in "killer clown" case pleads guilty in 1990 murder of Florida . Many of its members are related by birth or by marriage. The U.S. government, despite waging a war on drugs and conducting other counternarcotics efforts abroad, has made little progress in reducing demand. April 25, 2023 April 28, 2023. Mexican gangs eventually shifted from being couriers for Colombian criminal organizations, including the infamous Cali and Medelln cartels, to being wholesalers. is currently serving a life sentence in a federal prison in Colorado after being convicted in 2019 of numerous drug and murder conspiracy charges. U.S. officials say they've identified and infiltrated the Mexican drug organization that's largely responsible for the fentanyl crisis killing tens of thousands of Americans every year. 2023 BBC. https://seegore.com/rival-cartel-leaders-wife-beheaded/ The bodies of eight men and two women were. The cartels and the drug trade fuel rampant, to tens of thousands of homicides in the country each. The trial began with juryselection Oct. 4, with a verdict reached Friday. An official website of the United States government. The FBI San Diego Field Office and Washington Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations San Diego and Nogales Office, DEAs San Diego Division and Chicago Division, and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating the case. April 20, 2023 They have also said that information indicates Mr Guzmn-Lpez ordered the murders of informants, a drug trafficker and a popular Mexican singer who refused to sing at his wedding. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). "We've also seen security guards, some in cars and some in big tanks going south. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Sutton for the Southern District of California and Acting Deputy Chief Katharine Wagner and Trial Attorney Kirk Handrich of the Criminal Divisions Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, and Assistant U.S. The cartel was founded in Mexico's Sinaloa state and now operates in 17 Mexican states, and by some estimates, in as many as 50 countries. Latin America Studies Program, Religion and Foreign Policy Webinar: Religion and Technology, Virtual Event Corrections? by Will Freeman His body and anothers, which appeared to be stripped of clothing, were laid out on a street on a busy avenue in Jurez in another image shown by U.S. prosecutors. Shed been on the opposite side of the Sinaloa cartel, which made her a prime target at the height of violence during the criminal organizations war with the Jurez cartel. Within this centralized political structure, drug trafficking groups cultivated a wide network of corrupt officials through which they were able to gain distribution rights, market access, and protection. Originally a paramilitary enforcement arm for the Gulf Cartel, Los Zetas was singled out by the DEA in 2007 as the countrys most technologically advanced, sophisticated, and violent group of its kind. most significant drug trafficking threats, technologically advanced, sophisticated, and violent, significant foreign narcotics traffickers, created dozens of smaller, more violent drug gangs. You are also agreeing to our, For media inquiries on this topic, please reach out to, AMLOs Hugs Not Bullets Is Failing Mexico, Mexican Migration Could Be the First Crisis of 2021. Three brothers remain at large; Ovidio Guzman Lopez was arrested Jan. 5, 2023, by Mexican authorities in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico. Sinaloa drug cartel members found guilty, including 1 for role in 'Wedding Murders' case Aaron Martinez El Paso Times 0:00 0:36 Two reputed Sinaloa drug cartel members were convicted for. The Chapitos allegedly used these networks to import the drugs into the United States. This prosecution is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. The vehicle was guarded during transport, he added. But the alliance forged in blood should now evolve to be powered by chips, batteries, and clean technology. For the special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation, the work of investigating dangerous criminals never stops. The amount of fentanyl seized by Mexican authorities nearly quintupled between 2019 and 2020. Sinaloa cartel assassins group leader 'Grim Reaper' gets life in 'Wedding Murders' case. Mexico, along with China, is also a leading source of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to fifty times more potent than heroin. The killers are rivals of the Sinaloa cartel, . Iglesias became a member of the Sinaloa Cartel under Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman-Loera in early 2008. Jurez Cartel. Explore in 3D: The dazzling crown that makes a king. With strongholds in nearly half of Mexicos statesparticularly those along the Pacific coast in the northwest and near the countrys southern and northern bordersand operations in as many as fifty countries, it has a larger international footprint than any of its Mexican rivals. The indictment said the defendants obtained guns and other weapons; bribed corrupt public officials; and incited, threatened and engaged in violence, including murder, kidnapping, assault, and battery against law enforcement, rival drug traffickers, and members of their own drug trafficking organization. Mexican authorities have been waging a deadly battle against drug cartels for more than a decade, but with limited success. The Good Friday Agreement offers lessons for trying to end the war between Ukraine and Russia. Mexico City Assailants left 10 beaten, murdered bodies in front of the governor's office in the north-central Mexican state of Zacatecas on Thursday. Mexican suppliers are responsible for most heroin and methamphetamine production, while cocaine is largely produced in Colombia and then transported to the United States by Mexican criminal organizations. MEXICO CITY Infamous drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985, was captured Friday by Mexican forces nearly a decade after walking out of a Mexican. NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY - April 30, 2021. No civilian deaths have yet been reported. Mario Iglesias-Villegas, also known as the Grim Reaper, and Arturo Shows Urquidi,also known as Chous,were convicted on several drug trafficking, weaponand money laundering charges. But just six months later, the AMLO administration drew outcry from U.S. officials by disbanding a DEA-trained anti-narcotics force that had worked closely with U.S. law enforcement for decades. Another splinter group of the BLO, Los Rojos operates in central and southwestern Mexico and relies largely on kidnapping and extortion. After Mexican traffickers smuggle wholesale shipments of drugs into the United States, local groups and street gangs manage retail-level distribution in cities throughout the country. The trials are part of a large indictment by a federal grand jury that included Sinaloa cartel leaders Joaquin El Chapo Guzman and Ismael Mayo Zambada Garcia. Murdered Protesters On March 2010, six farmers who had been protesting the building of a dam near Culiacan, Sinaloa were gunned down by Sinaloa Cartel gunmen during a firefight. The indictment alleges that for years, Joaqun Guzmn Loeras (El Chapo) sons have destroyed lives and communities through drug trafficking and violence: their time is up, said DEA Special Agent in Charge Shelly Howe. The Chapitos subsequently amassed greater control over the Sinaloa Cartel by allegedly threatening and causing violence against Damaso Lopez Nunez, his family, and his associates and, as a result, became principal leaders and drug traffickers within the Sinaloa Cartel. Shortly after taking office, President Lpez Obrador, also known as AMLO, announced that his government would move away from militarized attempts to apprehend cartel leaders and instead focus on improving regional security cooperation and reducing homicide rates. Law enforcement officers also acted as bodyguards forhigh ranking members of the cartel, according to testimony. On Wednesday, jurors in the case heard more testimony from witnesses. (Experts estimate that between one-third and one-half of the homicides in Mexico are linked to cartels.). In the early 2000s, they recruited a young, ex-football player from Laredo named Edgar Valdez Villareal. by Lindsay Maizland Prosecutors revealed in a recent indictment that while Sinaloa cartel boss Joaqun El Chapo Guzmn serves a life sentence, his sons have steered the family business into fentanyl, establishing a network of labs churning out massive quantities of the cheap, deadly drug that they smuggle into the U.S. Garland said Friday that the Sinaloa Cartel is "largely responsible" for the increased fentanyl trafficking into the U.S. This timeline traces the role of the outside forces that have beleaguered eastern Congo since the end of the colonial era. Arturo Shows Urquidi and Mario Alberto Iglesias Villegas, who are cartel members, are on trial this week in U.S. federal court in El Paso. On January 8, 2016, however, Mexican officials announced that Guzmn had been captured in Los Mochis, Sinaloa. The two are accused of being involved in the Sinaloa cartels operations Jurez in connection to murders, kidnappings, and drug trafficking. Formerly led by Joaqun El Chapo Guzmn, Sinaloa is one of Mexicos oldest and most influential drug trafficking groups. "The Sinaloa Cartel is a savage and brutal organization. In August 2022, a judge ordered the former attorney general who oversaw the original investigation to stand trial on charges of forced disappearance, failure to report torture, and misconduct. Read about our approach to external linking. Monaco highlighted the need to combat drug trafficking and fentanyl proliferation on social media, telling reporters on Friday that she and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram met with social media companies last week discuss how social media companies "must do more to stop the sale of fentanyl on their platforms.". Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. But 2015 saw an uptick, and by the end of his term, the number of homicides had risen to the highest level in modern Mexican history. Mexican drug cartels are leading suppliers of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and other illicit narcotics to the United States. Testimony came from several Mexicanlocal and state law enforcement officers who were working for the cartels and taking bribes to ignore the drug and weapon trafficking done by the criminal organization. He was sentenced to more than 17 years in prison. Federal officials on Friday detailed the Chapitos' gruesome and cruel practices aimed at extending their power and amassing greater wealth from testing the potency of the fentanyl they allegedly produced on prisoners to feeding victims of their violence to tigers in order to intimidate civilians. Mexico later deployed twenty-five thousand National Guard members to secure its borders, which some experts say increased violence and diminished the countrys cartel-fighting capacity. The indictment said the defendants and other members and associates of the Sinaloa Cartel used, and caused to be used, various means to evade and escape law enforcement and military personnel and to protect their drug distribution activities, including on October 17, 2019, at what is known as the Battle of Culiacn, when the Mexican National Guard captured and then released Ovidio Guzmn Lpez during a gunfight in Sinaloa state. According to Grillo, public murders peaked in 2012. The expecting mother will need diapers and bottles, but she will also need comfy maternity clothes to wear throughout her pregnancy or a maternity pillow. Director of Media Relations Kelly Thornton (619) 546-9726 . The attorney general said the U.S. government would work to seek their extradition to face charges on American soil. A witness said Jos Antonio Marrufo, who was at the helm of the Sinaloas operations in Jurez, had a team of people that dealt with murders, kidnappings and dumping of bodies. The group is known to have a partnership with the CJNG, using the same transportation networks to move drug shipments to and from the United States. Theres nothing like lazy summer days relaxing on the patio. Garland said Friday that the Sinaloa Cartel is "largely responsible" for the increased fentanyl trafficking into the U.S. . First published on April 14, 2023 / 11:53 AM. I found him. Dozens of politicians were killed ahead of the countrys midterm elections in 2021, with many of the deaths attributed to the cartels. To make the most of your backyard, look for durable and comfortable seating options. The discussion between the attorneys and judge Montalvo suggested an error had been spotted in an early version of the transcription. According to the Justice Department, both sides "pledged" to increase information-sharing and cooperation on criminal investigations. But a federal judge in Mexico has now suspended any extradition process against him, according to local media. Civil liberties groups, journalists, and foreign officials have criticized the Mexican governments war with the cartels for years, accusing the military, police, and cartels of widespread human rights violations, including torture, extrajudicial killings, and forced disappearances. They cutt his hands off and left his body in a dark alley near the Universidad Pedaggica Nacional del Estado de Chihuahua, on Jurezs busy Avenida Ejrcito Nacional street. Defense lawyers claimed that was clear motivefor the witnesses to lie and tell stories that fit with the federal prosecutors narrative. In Brief The U.S. Department of State, through its Narcotics Rewards Program, is offering rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Ivan Guzman Salazar, Alfredo Guzman Salazar, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez and up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Joaquin Guzman Lopez. But on Monday, Mexican President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador blasted the U.S. for spying on the Sinaloa cartel without first gaining his government's permission. Are you in Mexico and have been affected by the issues raised in this story? Mexican President Andrs Lpez Obrador said Mexican forces had acted responsibly to look after the civilian population and avoid innocent victims. He will now arrive on Sunday, a day earlier than previously expected, according to a tweet by Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard. It is based in Culiacn, Sinaloa state, Mexico. Defense lawyers argued throughout the trial that key witnesses who were called to the stand were testifying against their clients to benefit themselves;most currently are serving time in prison. Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador (2018present). They were then told the bus was "at risk" and the driver was informed he needed to "stop and hide". Federal prosecutors countered that former cartel members who were part of the criminal organization were the best witnesses since they saw the illegal activity firsthand. He was a significant participant in the death of thousands of people in Ciudad Juarez from 2008 to 2011. Please include your name, age and location with any submission. Ovidio Guzmn-Lpez, 32, alleged to be a leader of his father's former cartel, was captured in Culiacn and flown to Mexico City on Thursday. Gabino Salas-Valenciano, Jesus Rodrigo Fierro-Ramirez and Emigdio MartinezJr. died while their cases werepending in federal court, court records show. President Caldern declared war on the cartels shortly after taking office. Once led by the Chapitos father, Joaquin Guzman Loera, aka El Chapo, and Ismael Zambada Garcia, aka El Mayo, the Sinaloa Cartels members and associates allegedly including the Chapitos smuggled significant quantities of drugs through Mexico and into the United States. Jalisco splintered from Sinaloa in 2010 and is among Mexicos fastest-growing cartels, with operations in more than two-thirds of the country. Global Climate Agreements: Successes and Failures, Backgrounder by Will Freeman Calderns successor said he would focus more on reducing violence against civilians and businesses than on removing the leaders of cartels. By 2007, Mexican cartels controlled an estimated 90 percent [PDF] of the cocaine entering the United States. In 2014 Guzmn was apprehended in Mazatln, Sinaloa, Mexico, but the following year he escaped from prison through a tunnel. These indictments were made possible by our cooperation with local, state, and federal partners. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Last month, Mexico's President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obradorcontroversially stated that the deadly drug is neither created nor consumed in his country and blamed Americans for the totality of the epidemic. The witness, who admitted to being in the team, looked on as violent images filled the screens in the courtroom. By the early 21st century the cartel had operations in more than 50 countries but was particularly dominant in the United States. Possibly fearing extradition to the United States, Guzmn escaped from prison in 2001. The country has seen more than 360,000 homicides since 2006, when the government declared war on the cartels. The growing use of synthetic opioids, including fentanyl, has contributed to a public health crisis. Over the decades, they have grown, splintered, forged new alliances, and battled one another for territory. We may have been far from it but we were close enough to see many people driving pretty fast in the opposite direction.". "It's died down a bit," he says. Nearly 200 people die every day from fentanyl poisoning. Iglesias-Villegas also was convicted for his participation in the kidnapping and eventual murder of Horizon City residentSergio Saucedo, officials said. The fuselage of a plane scheduled to fly from Culiacn to Mexico City was hit by gunfire during the operation on Thursday morning as it was preparing for take-off, Mexican airline Aeromexico said. According to the DEA, the rapid expansion of its drug trafficking activities is characterized by the groups willingness to engage in violent confrontations with authorities and rival cartels. Aaron Martinez may be reached at 915-546-6249; aamartinez@elpasotimes.com; @AMartinezEPTon Twitter. Recent efforts have centered on the Mrida Initiative; since Presidents George W. Bush and Caldern launched the partnership [PDF] in 2007, the United States has appropriated more than $3 billion for it. The other defendants includedJoaquin "El Chapo"Guzman, the reputed head of the cartel, andIsmael Zambada Garcia, who allegedly took over the drug cartel after Guzman was arrested in Mexico in 2016. He was accused of being the head of a group of Sinaloa cartel sicarios, or hit men. The United States has partnered closely with its southern neighbor in this fight, providing Mexico with billions of dollars to modernize its security forces, reform its judicial system, and fund development projects aimed at curbing migration at Mexicos southern border. The group formed when the Beltrn-Leyva brothers split from Sinaloa in 2008. Although he was arrested and sentenced to more than 20 years in prison in 1993, he continued to be a key figure in the cartel, and, according to various reports, he gained full control of the organization in 1995. "The violence gave rise to Ciudad Juarez being named the deadliest city in the world.. It was a blow to Mexicos efforts to fight drugs and further underscored the power of both the Sinaloa cartel and Guzmn. Mario De La O Lopez, aChihuahua state police officer, pleaded guilty June 15, 2017, to one count of continuing criminal enterprise. Their bodies were left in an affluent area in Jurez along Avenida Plutarco Elas Calles. For the . with Justin Trudeau Updates? One of the most chilling examples of these abuses occurred in the southern state of Guerrero in 2014, when forty-three student protesters were abducted and presumably killed, though remains of only three students have been definitively identified.