cjng cartel killings
But he kept getting caught. Jason Hoover, who oversaw Walker and teamed to raid area drug houses in the case. 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. In America,ElMenchoexpectscartel members and associates to avoid violence, hidewealth anddisguise their CJNG affiliations, agents say. Watch a man being brutally beheaded by rival Cartel members in Mexico! On April 6, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Carlos . American authorities are still seeking his extradition to the U.S. to face drug charges. "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. He knew he faced deportation back within reach of the cartels. His cousin, Roberto Carlos Farfan Alvarez, known as "Raton" or "Mouse," pleaded guilty but never talked to police. Jalisco New Generation, often referred to as CJNG, is another Mexican cartel that emerged in 2010. 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. Investigative reporter Beth Warren spent threedays in Mexico City and Guadalajara with the U.S. DrugEnforcement Administration and Mexican police and government officials. Why is The Courier Journal reporting on a deadly Mexican drug cartel? Farfan's drug ring also sent drugs to Gresham, east of Portland, Hood River, a port on the Columbia River an hour northeast of Portland, and north into Tacoma, Washington. "Police and civilians are dying, and the CJNG and continues unfettered, flooding the U.S. with methamphetamine and other drugs," Tabor added. Eduardo mulled over his future. In2015, ElMenchoflexed that power to strike back at law enforcement who tried to stop him. "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.". Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook The Elite Group is the top tier enforcement wing of the Jalisco New GeneralCartel, often referred to as CJNG. ", Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. 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. including the drug-related killings of two Mexican brothers in 2014, one of whom was found . 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. He was not a millionaire," Beaumont said. 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. While the CJNG makes no effortsto hide its beef with adverse cartels and Mexican military and law enforcement, civilians are all too often caught in the cryptic crossfire. Those who refuse bribesare threatened or killed. 17. One of the working law enforcement theories suggests the gunmen were targeting a former ally attending his mothers funeral. The Courier Journal's investigation into CJNG's surge comes during a recent wave of significantviolence among warring drug cartels in Mexico. The unending stream of narcotics has contributed to this countrys unprecedented addiction crisis, devastating families and killing more than 300,000 people since 2013. Alton Strupp and Matt Stone, Louisville Courier Journal. CJNG's rapid rise to power and its expansion havestunned and stymied Americas top drug fighters. 12:52 you're really coward and pathetic what about cjng all the killings from . He dropped out of sixth grade to helphis family pickavocados. This short film details The Courier Journal's investigation into CJNG and its leader, El Mencho, began in early 2019 and what was uncovered. The cartel has run brothels in Mexico, often using teens and women forced into CJNG's web. All rights reserved. "What are they doing way out in the middle of nowhere?" ", 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. Theyve got their money," Williams said. To help Maciassmuggle drugs into the U.S., cartel leaders used a Toyota Camry with a secret compartment on the armrest that opened through a sequence of steps: Turnon the heater. "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. In May, a judge sentenced Armas to serve seven years and six months in prison, followed by five years of supervision. It hauled inmore than 3 kilos of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid so potent that an amount as small as Abraham Lincoln's cheek on a pennycan be fatal. In turn, the Sinaloans killed a high-ranking CJNG boss in the area, Emiliano Torres Ramrez AKA El Agapo. He is loving, respectful and a very caring human being.". 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. He had at least five aliases and kept slipping back into the U.S. Adam died midsentence while writing a thank-you note to a friend on the eve of entering a rehab facility. //. In America, Hispanic workers find themselves looked atwith suspicion because of political rhetoric that brands the drug trade and immigration as one and the same, say advocates for those workers. Furthermore, it's part of their propaganda drive to recruit the many youths seeking that "narco"-glamorized life, flashed and filtered by images of beautiful women, mounds of money and a depository of deadly arms. She got her older sister, a struggling single mom, involved to make quick money. "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.". Robertois awaiting sentencing in Paducah in August for trafficking meth while armed with a gun. Next steps crucial, experts say. And court records detail how the cartel lures those who need money to serve as drug or cash couriers or money launderers. In Mexico, El Mencho is a household name. "As well as the violence and corruption that puts at risk the neighbor with which the United States shares an enormous land border, and in which thousands of U.S. companies operate, and U.S. citizens live.". On the run and out of sight, El Mencho is described by some veteran agents as a ghost. Farfan brought in at least 20 kilos of meth, half a kilo of heroin and nearly two kilos of fentanyl. Farfan also had to hand over $100,000. "If you provide information to the Mexican government, its probably the last thing you would say.". Treasury Department officials stood with Sessions and announced more sanctions on businesses linked to CJNG and its affiliate, Los Cuinis. He remained in prison until his deportation in 2015, court records show. Observers and anti-trafficking personnel who closely monitor the CJNG, which emerged around 2009 after splintering from the Sinaloa cartel, broadly conclude that much of its bloody approach can be attributed to its ruthless leader, Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera. During his March sentence hearing, Farfan apologized for his crimes, but insisted, "I've never been a violent person. "He has transformed his life from being an insular methamphetamine abuser to an active member of the recovery community, mentoring and guiding others who struggle," his attorney argued in a May 6, 2020, sentence memo asking for leniency. Known as CJNG, the cartel is a global powerhouse, detected on every continent except Antarctica. "But 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. "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. State and federal authorities have been unable to stop a fierce war in Michoacan between the CJNG and Carteles Unidos, an alliance of smaller regional organizations with proxy support from the Sinaloa Cartel. "A very big, increasing problem. Farfan refused to talk to agents or prosecutors. Los Cabos allegedly engaged in this violence in support of CJNG, one of the most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world. 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. She has extensively reported from war zones including Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma, and Latin America investigates global conflicts, war crimes and terrorism around the world. Agents arrested him in 2006, and he was convicted of illegally reentering the U.S. and trafficking cocaine and meth. It has drug cells all across the U.S., even in tiny towns. 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. "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. Adults and children are forced to work in CJNG's crude meth super labs vats on patches of dirt hidden in the jungle. or redistributed. In Seaside, known for commercial fishing and timber, traffickers easily established a strong customer base. You can follow him onTwitterand onFacebook. I hate violence," according to a transcript of the hearing, with Farfan appearing before the judge from prison on Zoom. He got his first glimpse of CJNGs success when he was overseeing drug cases in Los Angeles, a key cartel hub. (REUTERS/Stringer). From there, Victor Farfan and his inner circle supplied drug trafficker John Armas in Hillsboro. Paying semitruck drivers to haul hidden caches of drugs into the U.S. and return cash to Mexico. By the time of the hearing, the veteran was 560 days sober. He can be contacted atIortiz@breitbart.com. To build their lucrativedrug networks in the U.S., CJNG bosses mandated discretion to dodge police attention. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @holliesmckay. 17 555 49 1. 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. "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. It has an army of 5,000 members . 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. 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.". 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. 1 drug killing Americans. VIEWER DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED. A high-ranking state official in Jaliscosaid Americans are too quick to blame Mexico for the U.S. drug crisis. First, Mexican cartel suppliers established a pipeline to the Portland area. A month later, Mexican authorities learned of ElMenchos new hiding spot andorganizeda secret mission to capture him. Police found seven guns in the couple's bedroom. More:This small-town Oregon bricklayer had a side hustle: Gun supplier for Mexican drug cartel. Eduardo began running errands for his uncle, including delivering a bag to an El Salvador native who flew in from Maryland. But DEA agents across the border are sharing intelligence and working with their Mexican counterparts to devise ways to dismantle CJNG and arrest its leaders. "Once the cartel brings a huge load across (the border) and throws it out there for everyone to sell, its out of their hands. "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. Viral videos captured the gruesome execution on social media. Alarmed by CJNG's surging violence in Mexico andcontinued expansion across this country, U.S. officials have pushed back. 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. "That said, shootouts and attacks on authorities have happened in cities like Guadalajara in the middle of the day with no regard to innocent civilians' lives.". The military veteran served in Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and didn't have a criminal history, but he and his wife suffered from addiction. Someone aware of the Lexington-Louisville operation talked to a DEA agent in 2016, who, in turn, flagged investigators in Kentucky. "It's gonna be hard to catch him slippin'," said Mori, the DEA agent overseeing the U.S. criminal investigation against El Mencho. His attorney, Noel Grefenson, declined comment for this story. CJNG burns rivals face alive as a way of mocking his nickname Ghost Rider. 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. A cartel member even worked at Kentucky's famed Calumet Farm, home to eight Kentucky Derby and three Triple Crown winners. 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. El Menchos powerful international syndicate is flooding the U.S. with thousands of kilos of methamphetamines, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl every year despite being targeted repeatedly by undercover stings, busts and lengthy investigations. The Courier Journal could not say with certainty who supplied the drugs that killed Adam Cooley. Armas, in turn, supplied the former nurse and other dealers who carted the drugs further west into Seaside and other communities in Clatsop. 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. 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. By 2018, the CJNG became the second most powerful cartel in Mexico, and was believed to have over 100 methamphetamine labs throughout the country. The victims' wrists were tied using ligatures to prevent them all from bleeding to death. 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. Make no mistake, Taylor said. During a brief telephonecallfrom prison in August 2019,Palomerasaid heis a family manwhonever harmed anyone. 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. Known as CJNG, the cartel is a global powerhouse, detected on every continent except Antarctica. 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. 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. The gruesome crimes took place in Mexico's state of Colima. John Walker in uniform (left), and Walker in his undercover look (right). Prosecutors say Parra Pedroza and Pineda Sanchezwould keepa percentage, with the rest going tocartel members in Mexico. CJNG has skirted Mexican and U.S. inspections at legal border crossings by hiding drugs in semitrailers hauling tomatoes, avocados and other produce, dumping at least 5 tons of cocaine and 5 tons of meth into this country every month, according to DEA estimates. Parra Pedroza and Pineda Sanchez received 13 and 15 years, respectively, in prison after both pleaded guilty to money laundering. Who is La Vaca? 2023www.courier-journal.com. The unparalleled speed of CJNGs growth coasttocoast in less than a decade has made the cartel a clear, present and growing danger, says Uttam Dhillon, DEA's acting administrator. He previously was convicted on federal drug charges in the U.S. and was deported at least twice. 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 . During Eduardo's detention hearing, prosecutors told the judge the Farfan drug ring was supplied by a Mexican cartel. Much of the violence is attributed to the battle for territorial surface and thus the control oftheillicit drug flow into the United States. 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. It also identified at least two dozen "cells," which the DEA defines as places where cartel members set up shop to do business and live in the communities. And stymied Americas top drug fighters the coast by his close-knit family for his! A struggling single mom, involved to make quick money law enforcement suggests. 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cjng cartel killings