Drug Trafficking - Page 12

Recent drug seizures and indictments indicate that Miami is back on the map as a trafficking hub for cocaine passing through Caribbean waters. After the fall of the Cali and Medellín drug cartels in Colombia, both the Florida Straits and the streets of south Florida quieted down dramatically.

In a bold move sure to further destabilize very unsteady ties between the U.S. and Venezuela, U.S. prosecutors are preparing to disclose drug trafficking charges to be made against the head of Venezuela’s National Guard.

The drug trafficking ties between Colombia and Mexico go back decades, to when Colombian cartels started supplying Mexican drug runners with cocaine in the late 1970s. Those ties have since strengthened, and the recent discovery of a money laundering network between the two countries’ more powerful cartels is evidence of this.

A blog about Mexican drug cartels reported on December 7 about a leaked encrypted email supposedly sent by notorious Sinaloa cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán to prominent Islamic State (ISIS) leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. In the email, Guzmán allegedly threatens to retaliate against ISIS for destroying drug shipments and interfering in cartel business. Despite numerous mainstream media outlets reporting this “story” on December 10, the sole unverified source for this information is an unidentified Mexican blogger.

Georgia authorities busted a drug ring and tied the group to Mexican drug cartels.

In recent months, news outlets and the public in general have fallen in love with Mexican drug lord Joaquin Guzman Loera, better known as “El Chapo”. The Mexican criminal has drawn praise from news organizations, musicians, pundits and others who glorify his criminal empire and business savviness. However, the praise overlooks the dark violent side of the El Chapo.

The Colombian government’s attempt to legitimize the FARC terrorist organization has resulted in the emboldening of the world’s wealthiest non-jihadist terror group, details the Wall Street Journal’s Mary Anastasia O’Grady.

An Ohio county sheriff recently announced his agency had made one of the largest heroin seizures ever in the Miami Valley – drugs that were sourced to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. Hundreds of thousands of dollars and several firearms were also seized. The sheriff is now warning the cartel to stay out of his territory.

Diosdado Cabello, the head of Venezuela’s National Assembly and nation’s second-in-command, has accused the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of “kidnapping” two nephews of President Nicolás Maduro following their arrest this month for allegedly attempting to traffic 800 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.

“America’s Toughest Sheriff,” Sheriff Joe Arpaio tweeted on Monday to say that 700 body cameras would be distributed and issued to his deputies soon. He said, “I will be flipping the ON switch soon! Stay tuned.”

MCALLEN, Texas — The wife of a top Tamaulipas politician remains in U.S. federal custody as she awaits to go to trial after the FBI arrested her on money laundering charges.

After falling behind Peru as the world’s largest cocaine producer, Colombia has regained the top spot. The South American country now grows more illegal coca than Peru and third-place Bolivia combined, and most of that cocaine is headed to the U.S. through Mexico.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and high-ranking members of the socialist government there have remained mum regarding the arrest of two of Maduro’s nephews this week after attempting to sell cocaine to a DEA informant. On Venezuelan state TV, however, the arrests are treated as hearsay, “unconfirmed” rumors used to smear the head of state.

Sheriff’s deputies from Nacogdoches county, Texas, made a traffic stop and found over $1 million in cash that they determined belonged to a Mexican drug cartel. The incident occurred nearly 500 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

Two nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have been arrested and extradited to New York on charges of attempting to smuggle 800 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. These arrests follow more than a year of investigations and accusations that Venezuelan government officials are deeply involved in the drug trade.

Law enforcement officials in rural Indiana were in for a shock when they started searching a 148-acre tract of land in Delaware County during a murder investigation. The deceased owner of the property had allegedly been purchasing thousands of pounds of marijuana every year from a Mexican cartel, and a three-day search, begun on November 5, was attempting to uncover the remains of a snitch the owner had buried on his land over a decade ago.

Federal authorities in Argentina are on high alert after a possible sighting of top Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera.

It has long been known that Colombian terrorists produce roughly half of the cocaine that enters Mexico en route to the US. Panamanian authorities have recently revealed that the Sinaloa Cartel has had a direct presence in Panama for years—including most-wanted kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán himself.

Halloween weekend was a deadly one in Chicago, which registered shootings that left 15 people wounded. The city has a high crime rate and dozens of gangs that most assume are responsible for the high levels of urban violence. However, many residents feel that it’s the very presence of dangerous drug dealers who keep them safe.

A self-identified Mexican drug cartel enforcer was expected to receive a life sentence on November 2 with no chance for parole after pleading guilty on October 6 to nine murders in California. Authorities say the man admitted to several other killings across the country in service of a cartel he refuses to identify.

A Texas man will spend 25 years in prison for his role in distributing around 33,000 pounds of marijuana for the Gulf Cartel. The narco boss was responsible for a distribution line that spanned from this Texas border city to Houston.

A drug trafficker serving 36 years behind bars tried to escape from prison wearing a mask, a wig and a dress to disguise himself as an old woman.

Mexican authorities arrested a top female drug lord wanted in the United States for bribing federal officers. The female drug trafficker. known for her glamorous photographs on social media, was a common sight in this border city and in the Mexican cities of Reynosa and Miguel Aleman.

UPDATE: Lockdowns have been lifted at Texas border schools and authorities continue search for armed gunmen. An apparent armed drug rip-crew that prepared to raid a house near the Texas border set off a massive manhunt that resulted in lockdowns on multiple area schools. Such groups rob drug shipments or loads from cartel stash houses and operatives.

On October 7, the US Department of Justice announced the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) had dismantled a drug trafficking organization responsible for the transportation of multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and drug money between Puerto Rico and the Continental United States. This organization was using drug mules to smuggle kilograms of cocaine hidden in suitcases on airplanes.

MCALLEN, Texas — The crew on board a Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter successfully stopped a drug smuggling attempt by the a Mexican drug cartel on the banks of the Rio Grande.

On October 7, the US Justice Department released a statement saying that one of Honduras’ most powerful businessmen and two of his family members have been indicted for allegedly laundering money for drug traffickers. Seven businesses were also labeled “specially designated narcotics traffickers” under the Kingpin Act.

On October 8, Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office announced that the pilot who helped notorious drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán escape from a high-security prison had been captured. This was the first time any mention had been made of a pilot being involved in the plot, and authorities did not say if the arrest was bringing them any closer to discovering Guzmán’s whereabouts.

It’s an understatement to describe the relationship between the US and Venezuela as strained. The two countries have a history of expelling each other’s diplomats after spats over petroleum, democracy, and human rights. However, that tension was taken to a new level recently when US judges quietly unsealed indictments charging two former top Venezuelan police officials with drug trafficking.

As Breitbart Texas has previously reported, Middle America is awash in deadly heroin coming from south of the border. The Mexican heroin is affecting middle- and upper-class families in unprecedented ways. In a special series for Peoria Public Radio, Camille Phillips takes a look at how this deadly drug has invaded St. Louis, Missouri.

Make no mistake; the new thriller in theaters called Sicario is no documentary-style production of the drug war in Mexico. It’s a movie like any other, with its exaggerations and stylistic decisions. But what makes Sicario one of the better representations of the reality that is cartel violence on both sides of the border is that it’s accurate enough to be believable—even to those well-versed in the tiniest details of this endless war.

This week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation released its annual Uniform Crime Report (UCR), which summarizes a year’s worth of violent crime statistics from across the country. At a glance, it shows that violent crime is down across the country and in the State of Texas. However, the data used to make these assessments doesn’t include kidnappings or specify what crimes are drug- or cartel-related, painting a skewed picture of everyday life along some parts of the southwest border.

MISSION, Texas – A suspected drug trafficker assaulted federal officers with his vehicle this week at the international bridge that connects this border city with Mexico. On Tuesday, Manuel Tamez, drove his Nissan Rogue to an inspection booth at the Anzalduas-Reynosa International Bridge, court records obtained by Breitbart Texas revealed.

EDINBURG, Texas – One illegal immigrant has been formally charged with capital murder and another is expected to be charged soon in connection with the execution of two men and the burning of the victims’ corpses. The two jailed illegal immigrants are said to be members of a fearsome gang called the Tri-City Bombers which has been tied to multiple massacres and high profile murders in the past.

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — As American pastor who moved to Mexico to build churches in the violence-filled state of Tamaulipas has become the topic of much controversy after Louisiana State Troopers arrested his son with an airplane filled with cocaine. The 29-year-old John Crow, who lives in this border city, is charged with drug possession as well as having drug proceeds.

When most Americans hear the word heroin, they probably imagine a junkie underneath a highway overpass or an aging rock star with a needle sticking out of his arm. But the face of heroin abuse and addiction in America has changed dramatically in the last few years, and Mexican cartel drug traffickers are making sure those deadly little “balloons” filled with black-tar venom get into the hands of Middle America’s youth.