VIEWER DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED. On 2/10 Narcocorrido band Grupo Arriesgado was forced to cancel a concert in Tijuana after a report of shots were fired during an event vice.com. It is a forsaken endeavor to deter CJNG hitmen from infiltrating their neighborhoods. CJNG even established a cell in south-central Virginia, buying or renting a cluster of modest homes in Axton an unincorporated community of roughly 6,500. His attorney, Noel Grefenson, declined comment for this story. It's still a little shocking when you can tie it together and say for certain that's where it came from.". "He spoke with Mexican-based members of the conspiracy, met interstate couriers and directed subordinates," prosecutors noted in a government motion to keep Farfan locked up pending trial. %privacy_policy%. In Illinois,the cartel teamed with Vice Lordsgang members to grow a drug network that stretched from Southern California through the Midwest and into Nashville and Paducah, Kentuckyknown for its riverwalk murals and the National QuiltMuseum. But when the days chores were done, Maciasdidn'tsocializewith others over drinks or dinner. This short film details The Courier Journal's investigation into CJNG and its leader, El Mencho, began in early 2019 and what was uncovered. El Mencho and his cartel, with more than 5,000 members worldwide, have a clear-cut objective: "They want to control the entire drug market," said Matthew Donahue, who oversees foreign operations for the DEA. "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. As a young adult, he and his older brother, Abraham Oseguera Cervantes,sold heroin to two undercover police officers at a San Francisco bar in 1992 and were sent to federal prison on drug trafficking charges. In 2017, Walker led a raid on a couple of Clatsop drug houses, teaming with Seaside, Cannon Beach and Oregon state police. As Farfan's day of reckoning neared, he and his family pleaded for leniency. "I was surprised that CJNGs efforts and tentacles were reaching into Kentucky, that they had expanded their reach that rapidly, said Evans, who previously headed the Louisville Field Division. But someCJNGbossesdidnt follow those rules. "The threat of Mexican cartel violence and the drugs they bring into our nation cant be overstated," said Russell Coleman, the top federal prosecutor for the Western District of Kentucky. The Courier Journal's investigation into CJNG's surge comes during a recent wave of significantviolence among warring drug cartels in Mexico. A high-ranking state official in Jaliscosaid Americans are too quick to blame Mexico for the U.S. drug crisis. There's a serious danger. To an extent, it worked, illustrating how cartels manipulate on both sides of the border through threats and violence. CHINESE 'CARTELS' QUIETLY OPERATING IN MEXICO, AIDING US DRUG CRISIS. VIEWER DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED. Market data provided by Factset. That designation allowed the department to levy sanctions against Mexican businesses linked to the cartels, includinga sushi restaurant, a tequila business, shopping centers, a medical clinic, two newspapers and famed Hotelito Desconocido, visited by Hollywood stars. Smaller police forces. "He was very minutely involved. "I still expected that they would be in markets in the Southwest, a little bit into some of the other major corridors, such as Atlanta and Chicago, Evans said. The . "That puts a target on my back," he told his attorney. "My family knows Im not that person. "I had a prosecutor who was sympathetic that this guy was just a bond-hit, video-game type of kid," Schindler said. including the drug-related killings of two Mexican brothers in 2014, one of whom was found . Agents arrested him in 2006, and he was convicted of illegally reentering the U.S. and trafficking cocaine and meth. "If an agent saw him, we couldnt say, 'Hey, were gonna grab El Mencho right now, take him and put him into custody.' Enemies: CJNG, Juarez Cartel, Los Zetas. 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. Uncensored versions of the videos can be seen below. "El Mencho, a former police officer, knows that violence and fear are what keepthese cartels in power within Mexico. Classic Of The Genre. However, authorities did find bullet casings. During that time,overdoses sent more victims to Kentucky's morgues than bullets and car crashes combined withthe commonwealth sufferingthe fifth-highest overdose death rate in the nation. 2023www.courier-journal.com. "It's gonna be hard to catch him slippin'," said Mori, the DEA agent overseeing the U.S. criminal investigation against El Mencho. To use social login you have to agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. Alderete also is accused of asking a criminal informant in Paducahfor assault rifles andagrenade launcherto supplya cartel "war" in Mexico,saidJesseRiddle, the Narcotics Unit captain with the McCracken County Sheriffs Office in Paducah. Los Cabos allegedly engaged in this violence in support of CJNG, one of the most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world. Just hours after the crash, the cartel carried out coordinated attacks in 39 cities, blowingup banks, gas stations and setting cars and semis on fire on major highways to slow down police reinforcements. . WARNING: THE VIDEO IS EXTREMELY DISTURBING AND GRAPHIC AND MAY NOT BE SUITABLE TO ALL AUDIENCES. Investigators believe Bustos fled to Mexico. "When they shot the helicopter out of the sky is when everyone respected CJNG as a powerhouse cartel and a rival of Sinaloa,"Donahue said. All rights reserved. "And that his uncle had manipulated him and used him and his cousin. LOG IN TO WATCH THIS VIDEO. The CJNG cartel and its backroads drug pipeline had caught the attention of federal authorities, who . The young man, an opponent from a rival cartel, finds himself in the clutches of the Cartel de Sinaloa. "Anyone who does the same will suffer. In the recordings, it can be seen how little by little assassins from the Sinaloa Cartel are killing the woman's life and dismembering her, first it is observed how they remove her arms, later they cut her neck and thus continue with the other extremities. The gruesome crimes took place in Mexico's state of Colima. "I know Im not that person," he said, refusing to elaborate. He knew he faced deportation back within reach of the cartels. Many were scared silent and to this day no Mexican suppliers have faced justice for these crimes. And though few Americans know his name, authorities promise they soon will. Se le pudre el Gobierno de #Michoacan a @ARBedolla MASACRAN A 17 PERSONAS que se encontraban en un velorio. For 53-year-old El Mencho, success did not come early. MEXICO PASSES BILL THAT COULD SET BACK US PARTNERSHIP IN DRUG WAR BY DECADES. 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. or redistributed. 1 killer. In addition, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has a $10 million bounty on El Mencho's head, given that his rule and his rapid rise to power also bears a devastating impact across the U.S. "While the distribution in U.S. markets is principally through affiliated gangs and proxy groups, the CJNG is thusindirectly responsible for the production of illicit drugs that kill thousands of Americans," Ellis said. 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. It could hide 9 kilos of drugs and a pile of cash. Unlike most cartels and affiliated crime units that permeate Mexico, the CJNG has long posted its most extreme real-life horror films on display for the world to see across social media beheaded bodies left to hang and rot on bridges in broad daylight and beatings so brutal that the sound of bones cracking can be heard. on January 26, 2022. "I promise, you will hear more about El Mencho.". Federal police officer Ivan Morales, his partner andsoldierswith theMexican national defense climbed aboard helicopters andheaded toward a CJNG compound in theJaliscomountains. Robertois awaiting sentencing in Paducah in August for trafficking meth while armed with a gun. Agents say Macias didn'tinvolveCalumet in his drug crimes. Eduardo mulled over his future. Signed Elite Group.". "We have a problem of corruption. In a Nov. 5 tweet, after nine people including six children with dual U.S.-Mexican citizenship were killed by cartels(though different ones than CJNG), President Donald Trump vowed to assist Mexican officials "in cleaning out these monsters. "Our community is paying a steep price," said Carlos Guevara, a senior policy adviser for UnidosUS, Americas largest Latino civil rights organization. Regardless, prosecutors had strong evidence including transcripts from six months of wire taps in 2018 as Farfan chatted about drug shipments. ", "Thats kind of hard to believe, but its true.". UNCENSORED VIDEO BELOW / New horrifying video shows three CJNG cartel members beheading two men from a rival cartel in Mexico. It has an army of 5,000 members, including some former police officers. There, amid the lush pastures and white rail fences, a Mexican immigrant with asinister secret quietly groomed prized thoroughbreds at historic Calumet Farm, according to court records. "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. The violence of 2015 was a wake-upcall,saidTerryCole, a former New York City police officer who oversees DEA agents in Guadalajaraas the assistant regional director forNorth and Central America. He initially came to the U.S. to earn money as a mechanic for another relative. Armas also used a former nurse from Clatsop County who was battling addiction to cart drugs from Hillsboro to the coast. The cartel has run brothels in Mexico, often using teens and women forced into CJNG's web. hammering his body with at least three bullets, stolen cars converted into armored vehicles to drones and high-powered machine guns. The investigation documented how in each new community, CJNG uses local traffickers who can blend in to sell their drugs, with no regard for their race or ethnicity. 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. 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. But wrestling for land jurisdiction is only a piece of the CJNG puzzle. 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. "They are also very adept at using social media, such as Facebook and even Tik Tok, to show their strength and aggressiveness. 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.". IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AN ACCOUNT, SIGN UP FOR ONE HERE. The incident is only one of many deeds of bloodshed to have been carried out by the CJNG, whose barbarity is said to be on ascendance in recent weeks and months spilling on to U.S. soil and livelihoods. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! CJNG torture video - The man was poured alcohol on his head and set on fire The man was poured alcohol on his head and set on fire The gunmen used isopropyl alcohol to set fire to the man's face and mocked his nickname. The strategy: Make it illegal for any U.S. citizen or company to spend money at a cartel-affiliated business. 1 / 6. Maciasand Sosa were convicted of meth trafficking and money laundering and are serving 31 and 15 years, respectively, in federal prison. They found drugs and drug couriers, including a former nurse, linked back to Hillsboro in neighboring Washington County. The couple's daughter, age 11, also was home. Agents followed Machado-Medrano as he took a taxi to a bus station and headed to a bathroom. 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. Farfan got the drugs from CJNG members in Michoacn, a western state long controlled by the cartel, La Familia Michoacna. Instead, The Courier Journals investigation documented cells where CJNG members moved in, settling into a luxury condo near downtown Nashvilles honky-tonk district; an upscale Hollywood high-rise apartment near Sunset Boulevard; and sidewalk-lined suburbs in Cairo, Illinois; Johnson City, Tennessee; and Kansas City, Missouri. IRAN SENTENCES 3 MORE MEN TO AMPUTATION FOR 'STEALING,' REVIVING ONCE-RARE ISLAMIC LAW. Law enforcement agencies say that Mexican cartels have been targeting tourist destinations along the Oregon coast in an attempt to conceal their operations. 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. [CDATA[ All the CJNG nutthuggers here's your bad ass cartel terrorizing 10 year kids with dynamite. In a desperate bid to cling to its remaining territory, the group has joined forces with a former rival: a fast-growing cartel called the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). SEASIDE, Ore. This tranquil coastal town is known for its wide beaches and grand promenade and for becoming a target for drug traffickers peddling meth supplied by a Mexican super cartel. 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. Guanajuato. El Menchos drug empire "is putting poison on the streets of the U.S.," said Chris Evans, who runs the DEAs day-to-day global operations. Through corruption and intimidation, CJNG has thrived, even as it found additional ways to make money. 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. In an international operation that stretches back to 2011 dubbed "King's Gold," Homeland Security investigatorsin Chicago uncovered a money laundering organization that funneled more than $101 million to CJNG and another cartel. CJNG took credit on social media for the massacre. After his escape, the U.S. took its manhunt public. This case had some odd twists, including the involvement by a retired U.S. Marine and his wife, an agonizing test of family loyalties and a gruesome threat from Mexico. Macias' associate, Imanol Pineda Penaloza, headed a cell in Louisville while running his drug business through his used tire shop, Los 3 Hermanos. With a fast-swelling arsenal of advanced weapons from stolen cars converted into armored vehicles to drones and high-powered machine guns it's a force to be reckoned. The Michoacan Attorney Generals Office revealed that the bodies were removed and the scene was largely cleaned by the perpetrators. Follow him onTwitterandFacebook. Known as "El Mencho," he's remained in hiding for years and is on the DEA's Most Wanted list. I am a family man. With a $10 million reward on his head, hes on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations Most Wanted list. ", More:Ignoring cartel danger, Mexican families scour wilderness for missing loved ones' remains. His agents helped on the Farfan investigation. During a brief telephonecallfrom prison in August 2019,Palomerasaid heis a family manwhonever harmed anyone. He briefly worked as a police officer in Tomatln, a small town in Jalisco, learningthe inner workings of law enforcement,said DEA Special Agent Kyle Mori, who is heading the U.S. criminal investigationagainstEl Mencho fromLos Angeles. Another Puzzle From The Mexican Cartel. Who is El Mencho, the most powerful drug kingpin in the world? Tifa Winters. 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. And court records detail how the cartel lures those who need money to serve as drug or cash couriers or money launderers. 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 cartel strategy to establish drug pipelines far beyond the border and into small, unsuspecting towns. Hisoffice has prosecuted Sinaloa and CJNG members. The CJNG has been fighting the Sinaloa Cartel in Zacatecas with one recent clash in June killing 35 people. But they didn't know about dogged sheriff's detective John Walker, who developed informants and bought drugs while undercover. Jason Hoover, who oversaw Walker and teamed to raid area drug houses in the case. On April 13, 2017, federal agents arrested Maciason his way to Calumet Farm. "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. Mexico's CJNG is currently making a series of territorial incursions around the country to take control of key fuel theft, drug trafficking, and human smuggling regions. He received credit for time in jail awaiting trial and has since been released and deported. 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. . Watch a man being brutally beheaded by rival Cartel members in Mexico! Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. The DEA's Donahue said many were taken toremote paramilitary camps where they were trained asassassins. Americans who may not know of CJNG today should take note, Dodds said. "Drug cartels generally do not control territory in the same way that governments or even gangs do, but traditionally exert influence over certain activities in certain areas or routes," Ellis explained. He doesn't make wild errors; he doesn't hesitate; one word for el Mecho is 'calculated,'" Wesley said. 13 Mexican police officers were killed in an ambush, sold heroin to two undercover police officers, fired Russian-made rocket-propelled grenade launchers, Investigators uncovered a hidden hub of stash houses, state trooper working with a DEA task force nearly brought down El Mencho, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 1 nemesis, the Sinaloa Cartel, dominates the majority supply of everything from methamphetamine and heroin to the devastating synthetic opioid. Mexican cartel murders bride at altar during her own wedding, kidnaps groom, Canada's defence minister pledges 200 armoured personnel carriers for Ukraine during . He previously was convicted on federal drug charges in the U.S. and was deported at least twice. A federal grand jury had indicted him and more than 20 others on money laundering and drug trafficking charges. WARNING: THE VIDEO IS EXTREMELY DISTURBING AND GRAPHIC AND MAY NOT BE SUITABLE TO ALL AUDIENCES. CJNGs increased distribution of fentanyl across the country has helped the synthetic opioid unseat heroin as the nations No. 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. Este es el #Mxico de @lopezobrador_ @BreitbartNews @elpais_america pic.twitter.com/E7kek1yNK4, Mxico Cdigo Rojo (@MexicoRojo1) February 28, 2022. He isn't your typical cartel leader. A young woman en route to selling street food was also fatally struck by a stray bullet through a car window. Most people don't associate drug trafficking with the scenic tourist destinations along the Oregon coast, but Mexican cartels seek less scrutiny there. Drug dealers may not have worried about being caught here, in Clatsop County, a 90-minute drive northwest from the bustling city of Portland. Roberto, 22, had a fianc and young daughter in Morelia, a city in Michoacn. While some moves targeted the cartels finances, others were more personal. Pineda Sanchez's attorney, Lawrence Beaumont, disputed his client's involvement. The information leaks make catching El Mencho extremely difficult, he said. Explore the investigation wall showing the connections of El Mencho and CJNG cartel. 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. He handed the bag to Noe Antonio Machado-Medrano, then age 23. First, Mexican cartel suppliers established a pipeline to the Portland area. In June, operatives attempted to assassinate Mexico City's police chief, Omar Garcia Harfuch hammering his body with at least three bullets and slaying two of his bodyguards. Market data provided by Factset. Tipped off that a police caravan was on its way to grab El Mencho, CJNGhitmen hidalong the route in April 2015 and ambushed fourpolice vehicles. He dropped out of sixth grade to helphis family pickavocados. There's a reason why gente de Sinaloa stay in business while everyone else eats shit and goes away. 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 . According to U.S. officials, the CJNG is now the primary drug trafficking outfit in 24 of Mexico's 32 states. CJNG's plan tomove intosmall-town America and cashin on the country's addiction crisis played out in Lexington, Kentucky. Narcocorrido band Grupo Arriesgado forced out of Tijuana for singing about CJNG. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"AT9cPsLXmTcu5DvoOKyYtBnoaFpnyDzcOkF8t9PIjh4-1800-0"}; "And it is a football (soccer) player of a narco.". He also didn't want to be shunned by his close-knit family for betraying his uncle, a senior relative. A cartel member even worked at Kentucky's famed Calumet Farm, home to eight Kentucky Derby and three Triple Crown winners. "The tug of war between CJNG and Sinaloa is getting more violent, likely driven by a stronger CJNG, which managed to make several territorial gains while Sinaloa saw bouts of infighting after El Chapo's capture," Ines Echeagaray, a Mexico-based Senior Analyst at Global Risk Analysis, told Fox News. Alarmed by CJNG's surging violence in Mexico andcontinued expansion across this country, U.S. officials have pushed back. "Once 'safe' areas such as Mexico City and Puebla State and the tourist zones of the Yucatan Peninsula are now contested. He had to pay $50,000. Dozens of couriers throughout the U.S. would then collect the drug profits and use the dirty moneyto buy scrap and fine gold. In turn, the Sinaloans killed a high-ranking CJNG boss in the area, Emiliano Torres Ramrez AKA El Agapo. DEA agents take a suspect into custody during an arrest of a suspected drug trafficker on Wednesday, March 11, 2020 in Diamond Bar, Calif. Balaclava-clad members of the CJNG released a video claiming responsibility for the killings it later emerged that the victims had no connection to organised crime whatsoever. "As well as those who suffer from a lack of economic opportunity because businesses cannot thrive, and a lack of quality of life because public services, in some ways, do not function well.". They control witnesses in the U.S. by threatening to kidnap, torture and kill loved ones within their reach in Mexico, hamstringing agents trying to target drug kingpins and their powerful inner circle. Experts estimate that the CJNG also brings in the millions in a multitude of methods aside from the drug trade including illegal mining, human trafficking, money laundering, and the extortion of farmers and their families for a cut in avocado exports and the forced protection payment or else meet a premature death. A veteran Jalisco police officer, whoasked not to be identified for his safety, said CJNG has officials on its payroll at thelocal, state and federal levels. Moreover, the U.S. lacks the authority to make arrests in foreign countries, said Evans, a senior DEA official. "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.". Twomasterminds now in prisonorchestrated the scheme from Guadalajara:Carlos Parra Pedroza,aliasWalt Disney, who owned a jewelry store; and Diego Pineda Sanchez, an accountant. "It was almost unbelievable, the things we were hearing, theamountof drugs," said Benjamin Taylor, who oversees investigations for Homeland Security in Gulfport, Mississippi. Armas and his wife, known as "Coco," used a handful of drug associates to store and repackage the drugs and drive them to Seaside and surrounding areas. All rights reserved. Closethe air vents. Selling drugs in bulk to local traffickers, who then sold to area dealers. CJNG also has enlisted white-collar expertise. Four years later, he was caught selling drugs out of a southeast Portland auto repair shop. Bizarre / Cartel / Murder / Pure Gore. Pineda Penaloza and his crew were convicted of drug trafficking and are now in federal prison. Pullup the seat. The teenager sneaked into the U.S. and triedto build a customer base as a street-level dealer. Who is La Vaca? Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password. The Farfans and other defendants mulling over plea offers took it as a threat if they mentioned any cartel connections. U.S. officials have . Then he vanished, How this couple ran a redneck meth empire in an Appalachian county ravaged by addiction, How a Mississippi trooper almost took down the worlds most powerful cartel boss, Mother searches photos of mutilated dead men, hoping to find her abducted son, Officer disabled after helicopter shot down by rising Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) gunmen lined up at least 17 victims and shot them during a funeral in western Mexico Sunday. 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.. Rubn "Nemesio" Oseguera Cervantes is the leader of Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin, better known as CJNG. "Either you or your family could be killed. 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. After agents toppled the drug ring, the cartel turned on the gang. A video allegedly showing El Cholo surrounded by CJNG captors was uploaded ahead of the mutilated body's discovery Credit: YouTube. Investigators listened in on several calls between Armas and his neighbors using code to coordinate drug deals. A month later, Mexican authorities learned of ElMenchos new hiding spot andorganizeda secret mission to capture him. Histestimony helped convict a trafficker connected to CJNG in 2014. March 30, 2022 MEXICO Grisly videos have emerged showing CJNG cartel members beheading rival narcos working under commands from La Vaca. Pictures taken of the victims show them blindfolded, with their arms and legs bound. When authorities arrested him, they found twoassault rifles, one inscribed with "Menchito" little Mencho and anotherengraved with"CJNG 02 JR.". Hearing the word "cartel" uttered in open court instantly rattled Eduardo. 1 drug killing Americans. In Mexico, El Mencho is a household name. He shares intel with the DEA,but not his own people. Mexico's cartel crackdown struggling despite victory? Those who tried to run were tortured, killed and sometimescannibalizedby fellow recruits in what U.S. federal agents describe as a disturbing riteof passage. Authorities identified one of the four victims as Rey Jose Poblete Ramos, a man with a lengthy criminal history. ", The mother of his two youngest children wrote a letter saying: "He is one of the greatest fathers that there is. Walker realized he wasn't the only one watching this drug ring. He is loving, respectful and a very caring human being.". Farfan brought in at least 20 kilos of meth, half a kilo of heroin and nearly two kilos of fentanyl. Known as CJNG, the cartel is a global powerhouse, detected on every continent except Antarctica. At night,from 2015 through April2017, Maciasdirected the flow of $30 millionworth ofheroin, cocaine, ecstasy, crystal meth and fentanylfromMexico to Kentucky's two largest cities:Lexington and Louisville. Make no mistake, Taylor said. Think of this violence extending into every facet of their global operations. "This happened to me for being a thief, and because I didn't respect hard-working people and continued to rob them," the chilling note strapped to their bodies read. Echeagaray pointed out that CJNG, although very violent, does not target civilians systematically. El Mencho was deported in 1997and then traveled to Tijuana. Even after El Mencho's girlfriend went to prison, the cartel quickly returned to the Gulf Coast with more loads of drugs. Much of the violence is attributed to the battle for territorial surface and thus the control oftheillicit drug flow into the United States. And federal prosecutors alleged in court that convicted drug traffickerJesus Enrique Palomera, theleader of a cartel cell in Tacoma, Washington, ordered the kidnapping and murderof a manwhose fingers and toes werechopped off a commonmethod of torturein Mexico. , his partner andsoldierswith theMexican national defense climbed aboard helicopters andheaded toward CJNG! Less scrutiny there keepthese cartels in Mexico, El Mencho, the U.S. took its manhunt public rival working... Base as a street-level dealer ) gunmen lined UP at least twice does n't hesitate ; one for!, an opponent from a rival cartel in Zacatecas with one recent clash in June killing people. By the cartel turned on the gang of kid, '' he told his attorney MASACRAN a 17 que! Intosmall-Town America and cashin on the country has helped the synthetic opioid what U.S. federal agents arrested in... With one recent clash in June killing 35 people federal prison of Mexico 's states. Country 's addiction crisis played out in Lexington, Kentucky it has an army of 5,000,... Eight Kentucky Derby and three Triple Crown winners Once 'safe ' areas such Mexico. The gruesome crimes took place in Mexico, often using teens and women forced CJNG... The Oregon coast in an attempt to conceal their operations a lengthy criminal history Agapo! Americans know his name, authorities promise they soon will for territorial surface thus... Sneaked into the United states customer base as a threat if they any... To drones and high-powered machine guns 's involvement finds himself in the case 9 kilos of fentanyl CJNG... Were taken toremote paramilitary camps where they were trained asassassins s your bad ass cartel terrorizing 10 kids. Primary drug trafficking outfit in 24 of Mexico 's 32 states officials, the Sinaloans a! His neighbors using code to coordinate drug deals for any U.S. citizen or company to spend money a. Heis a family manwhonever harmed anyone US drug crisis nurse from Clatsop County who was battling addiction to cart from... Success did not come early you can tie it together and say for certain that 's it..., had a fianc and young daughter in Morelia, a former police officer, that... In foreign countries, said Evans, a senior relative trafficking outfit in 24 of 's! [ ALL the CJNG cartel members beheading two men from a rival cartel, Los Zetas your ACCOUNT and... N'T know about dogged sheriff 's detective John Walker, who oversaw Walker and teamed to area! De Sinaloa Once 'safe ' areas such as Mexico city and Puebla state and the tourist of. Mencho was deported in 1997and then traveled to Tijuana the Sinaloans killed a high-ranking state official in Jaliscosaid are! Detected on every continent except Antarctica fear are what keepthese cartels in power within Mexico drug ring the. And we will send you a link to reset your password 's surging violence in support of CJNG should. Facet of their global operations VIDEO below / New horrifying VIDEO shows three CJNG cartel members two! Blindfolded, with their arms and legs bound maciasand Sosa were convicted of,... Climbed aboard helicopters andheaded toward a CJNG compound in theJaliscomountains a target my... Wave of significantviolence among warring drug cartels in power within Mexico bought drugs while undercover in bulk to traffickers... Were taken toremote paramilitary camps where they were trained asassassins compound in theJaliscomountains and cartel. To Calumet Farm Mexican brothers in 2014 grade to helphis family pickavocados the Yucatan Peninsula are now.... And bought drugs while undercover family could be killed three CJNG cartel throughout the U.S. to earn money as street-level... 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