"But its a little different when you go to Boise, Idaho, and other small towns where they dont have the resources to really focus on an international cartel.". As they hovered over a cartel convoy, CJNG members fired Russian-made rocket-propelled grenade launchers, shooting down Morales helicopterinto a cluster of trees. So instead of blaming, we should look for solutions.. Their current. Agents arrested him in 2006, and he was convicted of illegally reentering the U.S. and trafficking cocaine and meth. Walker then secured search warrants to monitor social media accounts, where drug ring members chatted in code on Facebook Messenger. More:This small-town Oregon bricklayer had a side hustle: Gun supplier for Mexican drug cartel. U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon said he was troubled by Farfan's repeated drug crimes dating back at least to 1999. When he gets out, he again faces deportation. On April 6, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Carlos . While some moves targeted the cartels finances, others were more personal. "If one wants to gain power, control and territory, it's a must that they conquer non-alliance cartels and gain the assistance of police and government entities to assist them in their global success.". Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password. Police found seven guns in the couple's bedroom. The 56-year-old rose from the humble roots of an avocado growing family, dropped out of primary school to work in the fields, to become one of the most potent drug lords on the planet. Soldiers seized a couple of modified and armored trucks at a warehouse in the municipality of Camargo during a patrol on Saturday, local media reported. The gruesome crimes took place in Mexico's state of Colima. "You ask almost any young boy in Jalisco what they want to be when they grow up," one former intel officer, now based in Mexico City, lamented. 1 drug killing Americans. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. More:Will El Chapo son's arrest slow export of drugs to US? "Our community is paying a steep price," said Carlos Guevara, a senior policy adviser for UnidosUS, Americas largest Latino civil rights organization. Walker realized he wasn't the only one watching this drug ring. "There would be times on surveillance where you'd see 15 to 25 people roaming the local trap house waiting for the next supply to come in, walking around or sitting in cars, just waiting," said Walker, who later left the department. 2023www.courier-journal.com. In July, Coco was sentenced to time served and released. They stormed a hideout west of Guadalajara, but the cartel leader climbed into a vehicle and was rushed to safety. Farfan agreed to forfeit $100,000, and the judge ordered him to remain on supervised release for five years after he serves his time in prison. He handed the bag to Noe Antonio Machado-Medrano, then age 23. Alleged members of the Sinaloa Cartel arrested on smuggling charges in 2010 Credit: . "We consider this cartel to be one of the five most dangerous transnational criminal organizations on the face of the Earth, and it is doing unimaginable damage to the people of this nation," Sessions said. I don't really care what the prosecutor says.. According to the military, the vehicles were used by the CDG (Gulf Cartel) to transport drugs and hitmen. WARNING: THE VIDEO IS EXTREMELY DISTURBING AND GRAPHIC AND MAY NOT BE SUITABLE TO ALL AUDIENCES. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Agents say he typically travels in a convoy, surrounding himself withdozens of well-trained mercenaries armed with military-grade weapons that can tear through tanks, even aircraft. Cannibalism in Mexico! Agents and prosecutors didn't openly discuss in court records or hearings which cartel supplied Farfan, but The Courier Journal learned in February that he was supplied by a top U.S. target, the Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin the subject of a nine-month investigation and 28-page special report by the newspaper in 2019. He got his first glimpse of CJNGs success when he was overseeing drug cases in Los Angeles, a key cartel hub. %privacy_policy%. But they didn't know about dogged sheriff's detective John Walker, who developed informants and bought drugs while undercover. CJNGs increased distribution of fentanyl across the country has helped the synthetic opioid unseat heroin as the nations No. Armas enlisted help from his neighbors, a retired U.S. Marine and his wife. Moreover, the spread of crime by gangs 'affiliated' with the cartels increases the number of Mexicans who are victimized by crime indirectly related to cartels," he said. UNCENSORED VIDEO BELOW / New horrifying video shows three CJNG cartel members beheading two men from a rival cartel in Mexico. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"AT9cPsLXmTcu5DvoOKyYtBnoaFpnyDzcOkF8t9PIjh4-1800-0"}; Warren traveled to six cities in the U.S. and reviewed thousands of documents in more than 100 court cases and sought prison interviews with more than two dozen cartel members and associates. She got her older sister, a struggling single mom, involved to make quick money. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ACCOUNT, SIGN UP FOR ONE HERE. It's a common and effective tactic used by many cartels. Legal Statement. Despite the capture of certain top leaders, it is now Mexico's foremost criminal threat . Investigators believe Bustos fled to Mexico. "Theyre killing the next generation, and one of them was my son," Brenda Cooley said. Smaller police forces. The investigation documented CJNG operations in at least 35 states and Puerto Rico, a sticky web that has snared struggling business owners, thousands of drug users and Mexican immigrants terrified to challenge cartel orders. Police arrested Farfan in October 2018 as he and Montes drove toward California on Highway 99 near Roseburg, nearly three hours south of Portland, while towing a car. Who was to blame? "It's gonna be hard to catch him slippin'," said Mori, the DEA agent overseeing the U.S. criminal investigation against El Mencho. It has drug cells all across the U.S., even in tiny towns. Mexico's cartel crackdown struggling despite victory? Selling drugs in bulk to local traffickers, who then sold to area dealers. During his March sentence hearing, Farfan apologized for his crimes, but insisted, "I've never been a violent person. 1nemesis, the Sinaloa Cartel, dominates the majority supply of everything from methamphetamine and heroin to the devastating synthetic opioid fentanyl into its northern border and beyond. "What are they doing way out in the middle of nowhere?" If you have drugs in your community, and I don't think there is any community that can say they don't have any, it is coming from the drug cartels. Law enforcement agencies say that Mexican cartels have been targeting tourist destinations along the Oregon coast in an attempt to conceal their operations. 21 258 33 0. More:Mexico-US investigation links cartel downing of military helicopter to Oregon gun supplier, "I know that what I committed was wrong, but believe me, I'm not the worst person here. The cartel circulates these images of torture and execution on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to spread fear and intimidation. He can be contacted atbdarby@breitbart.com. Brenda and Karl Cooley of Louisville certainly didnt know his name when their son Adam overdosed on fentanyl in March 2017. Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook The answer, The Courier Journal found, kept pointing to CJNG. "That puts a target on my back," he told his attorney. Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. "One of the techniques cartels use here in the United States is to take young people and make them responsible for significant amounts of drugs in order to shield themselves," Schindler said. They are surrounded by 13 masked men, apparently Los Zetas hitmen, who point their rifles at them. Four men alleged to be leaders in a Mexican cartel enforcement cell have been indicted in San Diego on drug-trafficking charges and are accused of orchestrating a wave of . We see them operating illegal marijuana farms in southern Oregon.". "He was terrified to talk about this," his attorney told The Courier Journal. Signed Elite Group.". The judge also noted that while there was no evidence Farfan was physically violent, "the drugs that he played a role in distributing, including as a leader, caused so much harm in our community.". Throughout Mexico, more than 40,000 children and adults remain missing. The case took place in Marcos Castellanos, Michoacan, where gunmen stormed a funeral service and forced mourners to line up against a wall before opening fire. Sanctions recently imposed by the United States and Mexico on CJNG members allegedly linked to two high-profile murders demonstrate that the criminal group is one of the few remaining with a traditional hierarchical structure. Think of this violence extending into every facet of their global operations. Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) gunmen lined up at least 17 victims and shot them during a funeral in western Mexico Sunday. Another Puzzle From The Mexican Cartel. Beginning in 2015, the U.S. Treasury Department designated El Mencho a "kingpin," along with his brother-in-law, Abigail Gonzlez Valencia, leader of the Los Cuinis cartel. Soldiers stand guard in front of a modified and armored truck as it is displayed to the media at a military base in Reynosa, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas June 5, 2011. We're guests in their country.. I am a family man. More than 60 were targeted, including a biotech consulting company, a bakery and hillside vacation cabins. A young woman en route to selling street food was also fatally struck by a stray bullet through a car window. "A very big, increasing problem. However, authorities did find bullet casings. Investigators listened in on several calls between Armas and his neighbors using code to coordinate drug deals. U.S. officials have . Watch a man being brutally beheaded by rival Cartel members in Mexico! Chicago prosecutors allegein court filingsthat LuisAlderetewas ahigh-level cartel operativewhoshopped for a hitman on Facebook to take care of a gang member in Cairo, Illinois, to silence him. Los Cabos allegedly engaged in this violence in support of CJNG, one of the most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world. There's a reason why gente de Sinaloa stay in business while everyone else eats shit and goes away. How a Mexican cartel turned a rural area into a hidden cocaine hub, One mistake trapped a desperate dad in a Mexican drug cartel's web. Treasury Department officials stood with Sessions and announced more sanctions on businesses linked to CJNG and its affiliate, Los Cuinis. Pullup the seat. Flames leftMoralesdisabled and disfigured. He paid couriers to return the drug profits to him. Pointing to more than 70,000 Americans who overdosed and died in 2017, Coleman said, Were fighting a war for our families, and (the cartels) are winning.. Known as CJNG, the cartel is a global powerhouse, detected on every continent except Antarctica. El Mencho eventually joined the Milenio Cartel, gaining a reputation as a cunning sicario, or hitman, and then a boss of hitmen in Guadalajara, Jalisco's capital city. More:He reached 'kingpin' status by selling Mexican cartel-supplied drugs. All the CJNG nutthuggers here's your bad ass cartel terrorizing 10 year kids with dynamite. 17 555 49 1. Based on the average street value, its trade could net upwards of $8.1 billion for cocaine and $4.6 billion for crystal meth each year. As Farfan's day of reckoning neared, he and his family pleaded for leniency. Regardless, prosecutors had strong evidence including transcripts from six months of wire taps in 2018 as Farfan chatted about drug shipments. Attackers in armored vehicles opened fire with high-caliber weapons, gunning down officers driving five SUVs. His followers have spread tonearly all of Mexico's 32 states, including the cities ofGuadalajara and Tijuana, both crucial to moving drugs into the U.S. From there, ElMencho's empire went global, withasteady and growing customerbasein the U.S., as well as in Australia, Europe andJapan. The cartel exploits its connections with otherwise hard-working immigrants, said Dan Dodds, who leads DEA operations in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. If someone you love dies from an overdose tonight, he may very well be to blame. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The 21-year-old cartel leader, one of El Mencho's main underlings in Michoacn state, was killed when her heavily armed group launched a firefight with police. Investigators trailed behind Eduardo to the Lloyd Center shopping mall in Portland on July 10, 2018. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. He isn't your typical cartel leader. But someCJNGbossesdidnt follow those rules. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is targeting and killing police officers at their homes in Guanajuato, Mexico's most violent state and the most dangerous for police. Rapid gunfire could be heard in videos that appeared to have been recorded at the scene of the mass murder. CJNG also has enlisted white-collar expertise. Viral videos captured the gruesome execution on social media. He knew that cartels have connections inside U.S. prisons. IRAN SENTENCES 3 MORE MEN TO AMPUTATION FOR 'STEALING,' REVIVING ONCE-RARE ISLAMIC LAW. It has drug cells all across the U.S., even in tiny towns. On April 13, 2017, federal agents arrested Maciason his way to Calumet Farm. "I had a prosecutor who was sympathetic that this guy was just a bond-hit, video-game type of kid," Schindler said. It also operated a tequila label,casinos,two shopping centers,a medical clinic,real estate companies and a Pacific Ocean resort frequented by Americans, according to U.S. Treasury Department records. The DEA's Donahue said many were taken toremote paramilitary camps where they were trained asassassins. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. On Oct. 16, 2018, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, standing next to a large "Wanted" poster of El Mencho, announced a $10 million reward for his capture and unveiled detailed indictments against him and CJNG. Moreover, the U.S. lacks the authority to make arrests in foreign countries, said Evans, a senior DEA official. Hearing the word "cartel" uttered in open court instantly rattled Eduardo. "I promise, you will hear more about El Mencho.". But also by his own peers after they abandoned him to this . "If an agent saw him, we couldnt say, 'Hey, were gonna grab El Mencho right now, take him and put him into custody.' "And that his uncle had manipulated him and used him and his cousin. The Michoacan Attorney Generals Office revealed that the bodies were removed and the scene was largely cleaned by the perpetrators. He had a 1999 aggravated felony drug conviction in Multnomah County and was deported in 2001. Entire familieswho resisthave been slaughtered, Donahue said. It is a tactic later mimicked by the likes of ISIS, a digital bid to intimidate and inflict anxiety on enemy factions and send a warning to government law enforcement who dare to meddle in their monetary schemes. Pineda Sanchez's attorney, Lawrence Beaumont, disputed his client's involvement. The unending stream of narcotics has contributed to this countrys unprecedented addiction crisis, devastating families and killing more than 300,000 people since 2013. But when the days chores were done, Maciasdidn'tsocializewith others over drinks or dinner. "We have a problem of corruption. It is known for its aggressive use of violence and its public relations campaigns. DEA agents take a suspect into custody during an arrest of a suspected drug trafficker on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 in Diamond Bar, Calif. "If you provide information to the Mexican government, its probably the last thing you would say.". Eduardo mulled over his future. It has drug cells all across the U.S., even in tiny towns. Victor Alvarez Farfan began sneaking into the U.S. and targeting the Portland area more than two decades ago when he was in his early 20s. Market data provided by Factset. Throughout 2019, reporters analyzed thousands of court records of more than 100 criminal drug cases around the country and talked to more than 150 federal drug agents, police officers, defense attorneys and prosecutors. ", Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Theyre also working to train Mexican police to improve the country's solve rate for kidnappings and murders, which is less than 5%. Signs have also pointed to CJNG widening its footprint in the capital, Mexico City, aligning itself with the Fuerza Anti-Union gang to tackle the city's most extensive criminal enterprise, La Unin Tepito. He co-founded Breitbart Texas Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Sheriff's investigators say a Paducah, Kentucky, business owner who fell behind on a drug debt was warned last year by the cartel: "If we dont get our money, were gonna kill you and your family.. As well as its feud with El Menchos CJNG, El Marros group has made threats against new Mexican President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador, intelligence website InSight Crime reports. Armas also used a former nurse from Clatsop County who was battling addiction to cart drugs from Hillsboro to the coast. "All intelligence indicates hes still there, moving regularly," said Craine, the retired DEA supervisor who led the successful hunt for El Chapo. She recruited helpers, too, and they frequently made deposits of less than $10,000 amounts small enough to dodge federal reporting requirements at bank branches in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee,as well asGreensboro and Winston-Salem,North Carolina. Farfan also had to hand over $100,000. Farfan wasn't as lucky. including the drug-related killings of two Mexican brothers in 2014, one of whom was found . At least three people including a pregnant woman in her early 20s languish in critical condition in Guanajuato,Mexico, after their hands were chopped off and their bleeding bodies were thrown from the back of a truck last week. First, Mexican cartel suppliers established a pipeline to the Portland area. June 15, 2021 4:10 PM PT. And the lifelong, medieval punishment of physical disability is one that has become synonymous with both state and non-state actors over the years, from ISIS and al-Qaeda to theIranianregime. The knives stabbed into the corpse fixed boards with messages to the body, one of which read "the traitor" in Spanish, Vice reports. It is a forsaken endeavor to deter CJNG hitmen from infiltrating their neighborhoods. Known as "El Mencho," he's remained in hiding for years and is on the DEA's Most Wanted list. he asked his team. They also contacted more than two dozen accused cartel members or CJNG associates in prison and traveled to Mexico City, Guadalajara and 15 U.S. cities to see firsthand the far-reaching repercussions of El Menchos cartel. 7. "Your weapons laws (in the U.S.) are too weak," with American guns often ending up in the hands of cartel members in Mexico, he said. Headless bodies were dumped at the doorstep of a business associated with the Farfan family in their home state of Michoacn. The CJNG has been fighting the Sinaloa Cartel in Zacatecas with one recent clash in June killing 35 people. Additional Video Update: There is an additional video of a fight against state police that took place in the town of Tizapn El Alto. He received credit for time in jail awaiting trial and has since been released and deported. The cartel has run brothels in Mexico, often using teens and women forced into CJNG's web. It could hide 9 kilos of drugs and a pile of cash. Reporters Jonathan Bullington, Kala Kachmar, Chris Kenning andKarol Suarez contributed to this story. And court records detail how the cartel lures those who need money to serve as drug or cash couriers or money launderers. There, he built a thriving drug trafficking business, but the city's dominantcartel ordered him to leave when leaders became threatened by his success. To build their lucrativedrug networks in the U.S., CJNG bosses mandated discretion to dodge police attention. For police, it was d vu. But he ended up working for his Uncle Victor. "Anyone who does the same will suffer. The couple's daughter, age 11, also was home. All rights reserved. March 30, 2022 MEXICO Grisly videos have emerged showing CJNG cartel members beheading rival narcos working under commands from La Vaca. Through corruption and intimidation, CJNG has thrived, even as it found additional ways to make money. According to Mexico News Daily, more than 500 people in communities around the municipalities of Aguililla and Buenavista have deserted their homes and fled in fear for their lives as the fighting soars. It's still a little shocking when you can tie it together and say for certain that's where it came from.". That fight has been waged across America over the past seven years, federal court records show: CJNG is also using a mix of street gangsand white-collar businessmen to move the drugs and hide the money. But two years later, agents discovered he had slipped back into the U.S., returned to Portland and resumed trafficking cocaine and meth and had added heroin to his offerings. Ciro Macias Martinez led a double life, working as a horse groomer by day and overseeing the flow of $30 million worth of drugs into Kentuckyby night before being imprisoned in 2018 for meth trafficking and money laundering, federal records show. Dozens of couriers throughout the U.S. would then collect the drug profits and use the dirty moneyto buy scrap and fine gold. From there, Victor Farfan and his inner circle supplied drug trafficker John Armas in Hillsboro. Roberto, 22, had a fianc and young daughter in Morelia, a city in Michoacn. "If he was, I didnt charge him enough.". I hate violence," according to a transcript of the hearing, with Farfan appearing before the judge from prison on Zoom. According to the military, the vehicles were used by the CDG (Gulf Cartel) to transport drugs and hitmen. ", More:Ignoring cartel danger, Mexican families scour wilderness for missing loved ones' remains. Garbage. Victor Alvarez Farfan, a native of Michoacn, Mexico, headed the Portland drug ring blamed for bringing large amounts of meth, heroin and fentanyl across the border beginning in October 2017. CJNG members have followed relatives or friends who left Mexico for the U.S. to find jobs. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. //
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