A massive Mexican cartel methamphetamine (meth) ring has been busted by U.S. authorities in the state of Oregon that spanned from the Mexican state of Michoacán through Texas, California, and Oregon. Court documents obtained by Breitbart Texas reveal that 24 defendants have been charged and many of them are illegal aliens. The case involves hundreds of pounds of meth and shows collaboration between several Mexican cartels and U.S. gangs. The case also highlights that Mexican cartels are manufacturing meth on U.S. soil–not just importing the substance any longer.
The court documents provide details as to which individuals were allegedly operating with the cartels and getting the meth into the U.S. and which individuals were considered the local dealers by authorities. This reporter wrote in 2013 about an unprecedented Mexican cartel presence in Oregon, in addition to Washington state. From previous research, the cartels appear to use the Pacific Northwest as a staging ground to supply meth to U.S. oilfield workers in the Bakken region of the U.S. Dakotas.
As the oil began to flow in the uppermost regions of the U.S., indictments involving Mexican nationals and meth operations began to surface. In most cases, a Mexican national was sent from Mexico to the U.S. to lead a narco-ring which consisted of hired U.S. citizens. Though these cases clearly involve a Mexican cartel, the assertion couldn’t be proven with the available information.
In this instance, the press release from the U.S. Attorney’s office contained no hint that the operation was a cartel enterprise. The indictment was helpful, but the government’s effort to deny bail to the defendants contained proof of cartel involvement. The motion for pretrial detention specifically names the Knights Templar cartel and the Sinaloa Federation (cartel).
The Sinaloa cartel controls the U.S.-Mexico border from roughly the Big Bend Sector of Texas all the way west to the Pacific ocean, though some regional cartels control various cities along the way. They are by far the most professional of the criminal groups along the U.S.-Mexico border. The group has highly trained and well-equipped scout teams who operate deep within the U.S. border regions to help get Mexican cartel drug loads into the interior of the United States. A recent case reported by Breitbart Texas revealed that the Sinaloa cartel scouts have the ability to dispatch armed squads within the U.S. to stop competitors from using their territory or drug lanes. In that instance, an illegal alien believed to be a drug mule was spotted by scouts and armed men arrived and then anally raped the man to send a clear message. U.S. medical workers spent hours removing shards of wood from the man’s anal cavity.
The court documents did not specify which U.S. criminal gangs were involved. Breitbart Texas will continue to investigate the matter.
Breitbart Texas provides court documents pertaining to the vast Mexican cartel meth ring below.
Follow Breitbart Texas Managing Director Brandon Darby on Twitter: @brandondarby
Vast Mexican Cartel Meth Ring in US Indictment
Government's Motion for Pre-trial Detention, Vast Mexican Cartel Meth Ring in US