2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Mexican drug cartels are leading suppliers of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and other illicit narcotics to the United States. 'Add Pueblo Colorado to the list. In addition, two related defendants were identified and arrested after the indictment, the district attorney's office said. "There has also been evidence of the utilization of cryptocurrencies by Mexican TCOs as a means by which to transfer their wealth internationally" said the DEA. Rivera-Beltran also said that he found customers in Arizona who were buying 5,000 to 7,000 fentanyl pills, according to the indictment. She wants you to know he's more than a number. The . 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. More information about the case was not available on Wednesday, as some of the court documents remained sealed. It is based in Culiacn, Sinaloa state, Mexico. In another call on Sep. 27, the indictment says Rodriguez told Rivera-Beltran that the money had been seized, and that Vargas was getting items out of Escamilla's house. The Defense Department said the soldiers acted on their own and shot at the vehicle after they heard a loud noise following the crash. In 2012 the Mexican Competitiveness Institute issued a report saying that Mexico's cartels would lose as much as $1.425 billion if Colorado legalized marijuana. San Diego's largest cash seizure ever may shed light on an overlooked aspect of the drug trade >>, In many instances, the Sinaloa cartel and other Mexican cartels partner with street gangs in the US particularly the MS-13 to sell the drugs to consumers. The CJNG is believed to be engaging multiple rival organizations, the Sinaloa cartel in particular, in violent turf wars in several areas on Mexico's west coast. The notoriously violent Jalisco cartel has responded to Mexico's "hugs, not bullets" policy with a policy of their own: the cartel kidnapped in mid-May 2021, several members of an elite police force in the state of Guanajuato, tortured them to obtain names and addresses . 13 US Cities That Are Crowded By Mexican Drug Cartels, Death toll in strike on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia rises to 11 - officials, UPDATE 1-Bankman-Fried can have flip phone, limited internet while on bail, US proposes, China's economy, government revamp in focus as parliament set to open, The U.S. government is turning up the heat on TikTok here's the latest, Bankman-Fried can have flip phone, limited internet while on bail, US proposes. The following items were discovered when investigators searched the Kearney Street address, according to the indictment: According to the indictment, that Corvette was the same vehicle driven by Rivera-Beltran during the two drug deals with undercover officers, according to the indictment. Vanda Felbab-Brown Sunday, May 29, 2022 Mexico Today Editor's Note: In a new series, Vanda Felbab-Brown outlines the way Mexico's two largest cartels the Sinaloa Cartel and Cartel Jalisco. More than 400 soldiers have now turned up the city after . Seven of the defendants are considered fugitives. RELATED: All-time high overdose deaths in country Colorado deaths up 34%. These cartels primarily employ Mexican nationals to oversee their distribution operations in the United States. According to the indictment, the investigation began in April, when DEA agents learned that Samuel Padilla-Romo was selling methamphetamine in the 18th Judicial District and Denver metro area. Add Pueblo Colorado to the list. It alleges that El Potosino was a front company used to funnel drug money through Mexican restaurants in Colorado and Wyoming. He . Based in the city of Guadalajara, CJNG is the fastest growing drug cartel and the second biggest player in the United States. He had previously changed his profile image to the logo of the criminal organization's special forces 35th battalion. DEA special agent Robert Murphy said the SRT recently took down a dangerous Mexican cartel's methamphetamine conversion lab at a house in Gwinnett County. The identity of that cartel is not being released as it remains the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation.. They discussed concern over a camera pointing towards the carport, and the indictment says Rivera-Beltran commented that he would go to the residence of Albert Sanchez Rodriguez or somewhere else. Mexican army soldiers display $15 million U.S. on November 22, 2011, in Mexico City. Investigators discovered through calls that Escamilla was picking up a truck from a rental car agency on Sep. 27 and set up surveillance at the location, according to the indictment. DENVER Details of an eight-month investigation into a Colorado-based drug trafficking organization with links to a Mexican cartel have been released in a grand jury indictment. Jonathan Aguilar did not survive after he was struck in the temple. Los Zetas Cartel is also the only Mexican cartel that uses Dallas as a major hub. We are committed to dismantling and removing the threat posed by these criminal organizations flooding American communities with dangerous narcotics, said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way. The Defendants from El Salvador are Lara Zamora-Cruz, age unknown; Claudia Lisseth-Lara, 41, (naturalized); Vilma L. Zamora, 67; and Jose Chica-Orellana, age unknown. Zambada now is assumed to head the Sinoloa Cartel. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - A Sierra High School student was shot off-campus on Tuesday. In addition to the 6.57 kilograms of cocaine packed for distribution, the indictment says officers also found $7,117 in the glovebox. After consenting to a vehicle search, Diarte told the troopers someone put a box in his suitcase and was going to pay him $10,000 to transport it to Los Angeles, the indictment says. Drug cartels are extremely well-organized, well-financed, efficient, and ruthless. Authorities claimed that Surez was operating a Chevrolet Silverado that had been reported stolen. Our children stronger than we give them credit. We are pleased to provide the experience and expertise of Victor Manual Galarza Abizaid, considered a subject matter expert by the 22nd and 13th Judicial Districts in the State of Colorado in criminal interdiction, narcotics, narcotics investigations and the Mexican Cartels.Victor has been in active service as a Law Enforcement officer since 2011. Inside Matt Hancock's 41-hour battle to save his career when photo of 'a snog and heavy petting' Will Vladimir Putin's empress pay the ultimate price for his war on the West? Maybe he was hoping the Zetas would kidnapped that girl because she was stupid enough to follow him there. We try to spoil when we should understand we haven't spoiled so much, because they know we are working hard for them. Richard Nixon. Disclosure: 13 US Cities That Are Crowded By Mexican Drug Cartels is originally published at Insider Monkey. The highly-trained and combat-experienced guards are heavily-armed with assault rifles and protective vests. The extortion of 80 small-town mayors. Castillo said Surez lived with her and that he worked in the construction business with his stepfather. One group who hopes to mitigate any risks is the Blue Line Protection Group, which specializes only in security for the marijuana stores. "Much like the Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG is a poly-drug trafficking organization dealing in wholesale amounts of primarily methamphetamine, but also cocaine, heroin, and marijuana," the DEA notes, adding, "CJNG has drug distribution hubs in the US cities of Los Angeles and Atlanta.". NOBODY IN THE SURROUNDING DENVER AREA WANTS THAT SHIT NEITHER!!! Rivera-Beltran said he believed he was followed by law enforcement a few days earlier, according to the indictment. (Luis Velarde and Sarah Hashemi/The Washington Post) Claims of jury misconduct arose after a juror told VICE News in February 2019 report that several jurors followed media accounts of the three month-long trial. The undercover officer who first made contact with Rivera-Beltran arranged another drug purchase, and the indictment says $2,200 was exchanged for a pound of meth in the same Target parking lot on June 17. Peterson and a confidential informant said that cocaine was provided by Adrian Santana, and the indictment says Peterson showed text messages from Santana instructing him to pick up the drugs at 6600 Kearney Street. Five minutes later, the indictment says, Trevizo called Tarango-Rodriguez and told him he had arrived. In June 1993, Guzman-Loera was arrested in Chiapas, Mexico and sentenced to a 20-year prison term. Villasuso also said that even if legal stores do face extortion efforts by cartel groups it is unlikely law enforcement will even be made aware of it if merchants are too frightened to come to police. Taking over a trade once ruled by drug cartels and turning it into an all-cash business could make pot shops prime targets for extortion, black-market competition and robbery. The DEA said 21 suspects were identified during the investigation into the organization linked to the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico. "We still don't know what the fall out will be but when there is this much money involved the potential is great for groups to want capitalize.". This is probably not the last time you hear about CJNG as it is more willing to engage in violent confrontations with rival cartels and security forces. The Portland-based drug network, which stretched into affluent area suburbs, westbound to Oregon's quaint coastal cities and north into southwestern Washington, is emblematic of a key Mexican. Replicating this kind of aggressive law enforcement take down is critical to breaking the backs of these criminal organizations.. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. You can go to Tijuana, you can usually kind of fly under the radar for a while in Juarez, but Nuevo Laredo, come on. Copyright 2020 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Jalisco New Generation Cartel is the only Mexican cartel that uses New York City as a major hub. Here are our rankings using DEA's data: Los Zetas Cartel is the only Mexican cartel that uses New Orleans as a major hub. NOBODY AND I MEAN NOBODY IN BOULDER WANTS THAT SHIT WEED FROM MEXICO!!! Later that day, they spoke about trying to get a car out of impound, and both said they couldn't rely on Martiza anymore, according to the indictment.