He reached 'kingpin' status by selling Mexican cartel-supplied drugs. Known as CJNG, the cartel is a global powerhouse, detected on every continent except Antarctica. Cartels target tourist destinations along Oregon coast for illegal drug distribution. 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. On April 6, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Carlos . The . Make no mistake, Taylor said. Americans who may not know of CJNG today should take note, Dodds said. 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 2017, Walker led a raid on a couple of Clatsop drug houses, teaming with Seaside, Cannon Beach and Oregon state police. 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. CJNG wasn't the only cartel in the Bluegrass State in 2017, but authorities say it was the main supplier of fentanyl when Louisville's Adam Cooley, who sought heroin, snorted 20 times alethal dose. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel). He also didn't want to be shunned by his close-knit family for betraying his uncle, a senior relative. "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. Provided by McCracken County Sheriff's Department. Police grabbed him, finding two kilos of fentanyl stuffed in a backpack. 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. killing on turf wars between the Jalisco cartel and its rivals as it expands into new territory. It has drug cells all across the U.S., even in tiny towns. "We have a problem of corruption. But soon, he was asked to deliver drugs. Even if U.S. and Mexican investigators can track El Mencho's location, capturing him won't be easy. "I had a prosecutor who was sympathetic that this guy was just a bond-hit, video-game type of kid," Schindler said. Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) gunmen lined up at least 17 victims and shot them during a funeral in western Mexico Sunday. Mexican Cartel Members Sending Message To Rivals. Their current. "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. 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. Many court documents in the Farfan case remain sealed, hiding secrets shared by drug ring members and associates, and some involved in the case opted not to talk because of the volatility of the Mexican suppliers. Regardless, prosecutors had strong evidence including transcripts from six months of wire taps in 2018 as Farfan chatted about drug shipments. Selling drugs in bulk to local traffickers, who then sold to area dealers. Market data provided by Factset. In June 2015, the Mexican military arrested El Menchos son and second-in-command, Rubn Oseguera Gonzles. A larger probe was underway by Washington County Sheriff's WIN Team, the Westside Interagency Narcotics task force that includes agents with the FBI, Hillsboro and Beaverton police and the Oregon National Guard County-Drug investigators. In Hillsboro, a suburb 30 minutes west of Portland, a savvy drug cell leader supplied by Victor Farfan seemed untouchable. %privacy_policy%. 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. 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. The cartel's expansion into smaller, unexpected communities began to mushroom about five years ago as U.S. intelligence analysts tracked its movements far beyond border towns and major hubs. The information leaks make catching El Mencho extremely difficult, he said. 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. Rubn "Nemesio" Oseguera Cervantes is the leader of Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin, better known as CJNG. The strategy: Make it illegal for any U.S. citizen or company to spend money at a cartel-affiliated business. Hearing the word "cartel" uttered in open court instantly rattled Eduardo. "I don't know who they are, but they know who I am, and they know what's going on here. It has an army of 5,000 members, including some former police officers. Investigators uncovered three main pieces of the puzzle that revealed a snapshot of how this drug ring thrived. Investigative reporter Beth Warren spent threedays in Mexico City and Guadalajara with the U.S. DrugEnforcement Administration and Mexican police and government officials. Known as CJNG, the cartel is a global powerhouse, detected on every continent except Antarctica. Este es el #Mxico de @lopezobrador_ @BreitbartNews @elpais_america pic.twitter.com/E7kek1yNK4, Mxico Cdigo Rojo (@MexicoRojo1) February 28, 2022. And, according to reports by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, CJNG and its rival, the infamous Sinaloa Cartel, are the top two suppliers fueling the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. 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. We have all had a drug consumption problem," said the official, who asked not to be identified for his protection. But also by his own peers after they abandoned him to this . He dropped out of sixth grade to helphis family pickavocados. As Farfan's day of reckoning neared, he and his family pleaded for leniency. Roberto, 22, had a fianc and young daughter in Morelia, a city in Michoacn. 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. Farfan got the drugs from CJNG members in Michoacn, a western state long controlled by the cartel, La Familia Michoacna. "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. The couple's daughter, age 11, also was home. 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. 17 555 49 1. Colima: Four members of the CJNG cartel mistakenly identified a ten year old girl as the daughter of a rival involved in a conflict over drug market territory. First, Mexican cartel suppliers established a pipeline to the Portland area. A nine-month Courier Journal investigation reveals how CJNG's reach hasspread across the U.S. in the past five years, overwhelming cities and small towns with massive amounts of drugs. It has drug cells all across the U.S., even in tiny towns. 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. In2015, ElMenchoflexed that power to strike back at law enforcement who tried to stop him. It has an army of 5,000 members . CJNG, which routinely faces off with its No. VIEWER DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED. One of the working law enforcement theories suggests the gunmen were targeting a former ally attending his mothers funeral. Pineda Sanchez's attorney, Lawrence Beaumont, disputed his client's involvement. He had to pay $50,000. 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). MEMBERS ONLY. Roberto never talked to agents or prosecutors. CJNG burns rivals face alive as a way of mocking his nickname Ghost Rider. He co-founded Breitbart Texas Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darbyand senior Breitbart management. By the time of the hearing, the veteran was 560 days sober. "That's the type ofterrorists were dealing with here.". We're guests in their country.. his anguished parents asked. In Seaside, known for commercial fishing and timber, traffickers easily established a strong customer base. "Theyre killing the next generation, and one of them was my son," Brenda Cooley said. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"AT9cPsLXmTcu5DvoOKyYtBnoaFpnyDzcOkF8t9PIjh4-1800-0"}; 1 killer. This case is another example of how CJNG is increasingly vying for turf in Michoacn, the birthplace of its leader, Rubn Oseguera Cervantes. You can follow him onTwitterand onFacebook. El Mencho was deported in 1997and then traveled to Tijuana. He shares intel with the DEA,but not his own people. "And it is a football (soccer) player of a narco.". 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. 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. He never mentioned suppliers in Mexico linked to a cartel, or what he called the Mexican mafia. Using others to deposit drug profitsin cartel-controlled bankaccounts. The cartel circulates these images of torture and execution on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to spread fear and intimidation. But he kept getting caught. In eightmonths, Sosas crew laundered about $1million for CJNG,stacking drugs and cash behind a wall of their trailer. Moreover, the U.S. lacks the authority to make arrests in foreign countries, said Evans, a senior DEA official. Farfan wasn't as lucky. "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. He can be contacted [email protected]. Prosecutors say Parra Pedroza and Pineda Sanchezwould keepa percentage, with the rest going tocartel members in Mexico. 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. ", Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. Two years earlier, they stumbled onto a drug business at the same auto repair shop allegedly run by suspect Jose Cruz Gutierrez Bustos. A judge sentenced Roberto to three years in custody in January 2021. 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. including the drug-related killings of two Mexican brothers in 2014, one of whom was found . At first, he supervised work crews at his uncle's construction business building houses, Roberto's attorney, Robert Salisbury, said. GRAPHIC VIDEO: CJNG cartel members behead two men from rival cartel July 12, 2022 UNCENSORED VIDEO BELOW / New horrifying video shows three CJNG cartel members beheading two men from a rival cartel in Mexico. U.S. drug agents believe he's in western Mexico, hiding in remote jungles or mountains of Jalisco, Colima or Michocan. VIEWER DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED. They seized more than $1 million in drug moneyhis couriers were hauling to Mexico. Mexico's cartel crackdown struggling despite victory? They found drugs and drug couriers, including a former nurse, linked back to Hillsboro in neighboring Washington County. [CDATA[ With a $10 million reward on his head, hes on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations Most Wanted list. Known as "El Mencho," he's remained in hiding for years and is on the DEA's Most Wanted list. All rights reserved. He handed the bag to Noe Antonio Machado-Medrano, then age 23. If someone you love dies from an overdose tonight, he may very well be to blame. I hate violence," according to a transcript of the hearing, with Farfan appearing before the judge from prison on Zoom. 1 nemesis, the Sinaloa Cartel, dominates the majority supply of everything from methamphetamine and heroin to the devastating synthetic opioid. Through corruption and intimidation, CJNG has thrived, even as it found additional ways to make money. 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. Investigators trailed behind Eduardo to the Lloyd Center shopping mall in Portland on July 10, 2018. Drug dealers may not have worried about being caught here, in Clatsop County, a 90-minute drive northwest from the bustling city of Portland. 1 drug killing Americans. 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. Eleven months after the Lexington raid, a SWAT team crept in the darkness and blasted off the front door of the tire shop owner's house in Louisville. Uncensored versions of the videos can be seen below. 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. American authorities are still seeking his extradition to the U.S. to face drug charges. 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