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.". A few instances of the harm: A co-defendant killed himself to avoid prison, and a 9-year-old girl tested positive for meth after her parents helped repackage drugs for resale. Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password. Prosecutors successfully pushed for 15 years in their sentencing memo, pointing to Farfan's "unwillingness to stop drug trafficking and his unwillingness to remain outside of the United States." He never mentioned suppliers in Mexico linked to a cartel, or what he called the Mexican mafia. "That's the type ofterrorists were dealing with here.". CJNG members have followed relatives or friends who left Mexico for the U.S. to find jobs. He quickly amassed a privatearmy, with CJNG members recruitingor kidnappinghundreds of men in their 20s and boys as young as 12. In cases in which immigrants resist the cartel's offer, CJNG members often threatened violence to them or their loved ones back in Mexico, according to court cases and law enforcement officials. 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. It has drug cells all across the U.S., even in tiny towns. Three of them are bare-chested. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Next steps crucial, experts say, US drug czar wants India to stem flow of chemicals used by Mexican cartels for fentanyl, Ignoring cartel danger, Mexican families scour wilderness for missing loved ones' remains, This small-town Oregon bricklayer had a side hustle: Gun supplier for Mexican drug cartel, Mexico-US investigation links cartel downing of military helicopter to Oregon gun supplier, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. CJNG remains the domineering force in its namesake state of Jalisco where the former governor was gunned down on Friday, in what many believe to have been the work of the cartel and its trail of terror is steadily proliferating. Explore the investigation wall showing the connections of El Mencho and CJNG cartel. During his March sentence hearing, Farfan apologized for his crimes, but insisted, "I've never been a violent person. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. All rights reserved. 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. //]]>. After agents toppled the Oregon drug network in 2018 and arrested 23 suspects, there were murders in Mexico that U.S. investigators suspect were meant to scare and silence potential witnesses in the Portland case. Months later, the veteran texted his adult son about his gratitude that agents arrested him, saving his life. more proof that CJNG ain't shit but zetas 2.0 gente de Sinaloa no trabaja asi como vale vergas. "It was almost unbelievable, the things we were hearing, theamountof drugs," said Benjamin Taylor, who oversees investigations for Homeland Security in Gulfport, Mississippi. As Farfan's day of reckoning neared, he and his family pleaded for leniency. 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. 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. CJNGs increased distribution of fentanyl across the country has helped the synthetic opioid unseat heroin as the nations No. CJNG's rapid rise to power and its expansion havestunned and stymied Americas top drug fighters. While officials can't say how much of the U.S. drug trade comes from CJNG, they predict the powerful organization is poised to supplant the more well-known and established Sinaloa Cartel as the world's most powerful drug trafficking organization. Selling drugs in bulk to local traffickers, who then sold to area dealers. CJNG's Kentucky strategy has been repeated in town after town across America, in places better known for cheese, cows and corn. The Farfans and other defendants mulling over plea offers took it as a threat if they mentioned any cartel connections. 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. Provided by McCracken County Sheriff's Department. 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. MEXICO PASSES BILL THAT COULD SET BACK US PARTNERSHIP IN DRUG WAR BY DECADES. In the past, student filmmakers have been kidnapped and tortured to death, journalists frequently killed before they can even begin to probe a likely CJNG crime, dozens of lawmakers and judges have been butchered and death threats have haunted scores of Mexican officials. Reporter Beth Warren: bwarren@courier-journal.com; 502-582-7164; Twitter @BethWarrenCJ. "That puts a target on my back," he told his attorney. More:Will El Chapo son's arrest slow export of drugs to US? Smaller towns. Hearing the word "cartel" uttered in open court instantly rattled Eduardo. They stormed a hideout west of Guadalajara, but the cartel leader climbed into a vehicle and was rushed to safety. 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. 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. In June 2015, the Mexican military arrested El Menchos son and second-in-command, Rubn Oseguera Gonzles. Eduardo, known as "Pollo" or "Chicken," began running errands, or drug runs, for his uncle when he was 20 or 21 and claims he had no understanding of the scope of the drug ring or the risks he was taking. ", More:Ignoring cartel danger, Mexican families scour wilderness for missing loved ones' remains. 17 555 49 1. Rubn "Nemesio" Oseguera Cervantes is the leader of Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin, better known as CJNG. He had at least five aliases and kept slipping back into the U.S. He was thought to be one of the leaders of Carteles Unidos. 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. Courier Journal reporters pieced together CJNGs network, from the suburbs of Seattle, the beaches of Mississippi and South Carolina, Californias coastline, the mountains of Virginia, small farming towns in Iowa and Nebraska, and across the Bluegrass State, including in Louisville, Lexington and Paducah. 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. Armas also asked them to repackage large amounts of drugs and sell out of their home to users as well as mid-level dealers. He handed the bag to Noe Antonio Machado-Medrano, then age 23. Narcocorrido band Grupo Arriesgado forced out of Tijuana for singing about CJNG. For example, a Lexington waitress seekingcash to pay fordental assistant courses ended up making bank deposits that she didnt know were for CJNG, according to court transcripts. Cartel members issued a stark warning in Mexico that reverberated through the drug network in Oregon. For an overview of the Pjaros Sierra versus Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin (CJNG) conflict, please see this previous Borderland Beat story. Police had long known John Armas was a major meth trafficker, but he was careful. He doesn't make wild errors; he doesn't hesitate; one word for el Mecho is 'calculated,'" Wesley said. Here you'll find all collections you've created before. [CDATA[ Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. Someone aware of the Lexington-Louisville operation talked to a DEA agent in 2016, who, in turn, flagged investigators in Kentucky. Irma Isaisa Jasmine Arroyo, 10, whose body was found maimed and semi incinerated on 28 January in the city of Tecoman. A video allegedly showing El Cholo surrounded by CJNG captors was uploaded ahead of the mutilated body's discovery Credit: YouTube. 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. Los Marros behead man, woman from CJNG cartel, Two men dismembered, ditched on road along with pizzas and cartel narcomantas, CJNG cartel members BBQ dismembered opps in Mexico, Sicarios who brutally stabbed two men to death dismembered in Mexico, Cartel members skin two men alive and wear their faces on their head. Pineda Penaloza and his crew were convicted of drug trafficking and are now in federal prison. Businesses in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Los Angeles would buy the goldand then send the payments through wire transfers to Mexico including to Parra Pedroza's precious metals business. Mexican marines almost captured El Mencho in October 2018. Legal Statement. He agreed to talk to agents only about certain drug crimes, including detailing his actions and his uncle's actions inside the U.S., after a judge released him from jail on bond and after his elder family members gave him their blessing. 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. 2020 has been an especially savage year in the border city of Tijuana,racking upalmost 2,000 murders almost on par with 2019 and once again earning the label of having the highest murder rate per capita of any city in Mexico. Macias' associate, Imanol Pineda Penaloza, headed a cell in Louisville while running his drug business through his used tire shop, Los 3 Hermanos. 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. Why is The Courier Journal reporting on a deadly Mexican drug cartel? 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. Drug trafficking is popping up in unlikely tourist areas along the Oregon coast: Photos. CHINESE 'CARTELS' QUIETLY OPERATING IN MEXICO, AIDING US DRUG CRISIS. "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 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. ", 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 a Chicago money-laundering case, a Guadalajara businessman working with CJNG urged an informant to settle his drug debt quickly, describing how cartel members settled another mans debt: "They chopped off his fingers.". Farfan refused to talk to agents or prosecutors. The group has also upped the ante for sea and air authority too fighting the likes of Sinaloa and the vestiges of Los Zetas and Los Pelones to take heed over the vital port of Chetumal and the Yucatan Peninsula, according to ananalysisby InSight Crime. 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. "Anyone who does the same will suffer. The information leaks make catching El Mencho extremely difficult, he said. It also forbids any U.S. bank to approve loans or credit card transactions for those CJNG-backed enterprises. . 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