Victims Of The Shooting In Culiacan Sinaloa. Aaron Martinez may be reached at 915-546-6249; aamartinez@elpasotimes.com; @AMartinezEPTon Twitter. Mexico City Assailants left 10 beaten, murdered bodies in front of the governor's office in the north-central Mexican state of Zacatecas on Thursday. April 19, 2023 The two are accused of being involved in the Sinaloa cartels operations Jurez in connection to murders, kidnappings, and drug trafficking. The capture in 2016 of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the ex-leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel, sparked a struggle for control of northwestern Mexico's crime and trafficking underworld. The informant also testified that Shows Urquidi confessed to playing a key role in the killing of fellow Mexicanstate police Officer Jesus Rodrigo Fierro-Ramirez. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. All the witnesses who worked forthe cartel and the jailhouse informant eachadmitted they were hoping their testimony in the case would result in their prison sentences being reduced. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. On board the worlds last surviving turntable ferry. Last month, Mexico's President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obradorcontroversially stated that the deadly drug is neither created nor consumed in his country and blamed Americans for the totality of the epidemic. Violence continues to rage more than a decade after the Mexican government launched a war against drug cartels. The operation, which began at dawn in Culiacn, in Sinaloa state, north-west Mexico, sparked a wave of violence from armed cartel members. The head of a group of assassins for the Sinaloa drug cartel was sentenced to life in prison Thursday in U . Guzman was extradited to the U.S. in 2017. President Biden inherited a tense security relationship with Mexico, with bilateral cooperation focused mostly on migration, COVID-19, and trade. The 49-year-old Sinaloa Cartel member, who is suspected of having killed dozens, goes by the nickname "La Barbie" thanks to his blue eyes. The cartel was founded in Mexico's Sinaloa state and now operates in 17 Mexican states, and by some estimates, in as many as 50 countries. Watch: Buses burn and block roads on the streets of Culiacan, Mexico. Several other defendants indicted in El Paso in 2012 have pleaded guilty. The six-month surveillance operation to capture Mr Guzmn-Lpez had the support of United States officials, Mr Sandoval said. April 28, 2023. The FBI San Diego Field Office and Washington Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations San Diego and Nogales Office, DEAs San Diego Division and Chicago Division, and IRS Criminal Investigation are investigating the case. Last updated September 7, 2022 2:45 pm (EST), By entering your email and clicking subscribe, you're agreeing to receive announcements from CFR about our products and services, as well as invitations to CFR events. Although several of its leaders were arrested between 2019 and 2020, the group remains active, and along with Guerreros Unidos, has been linked to the 2014 disappearance and murder of forty-three students from a university in Guerrero State. A further 35 military personnel were injured and 21 gunmen were arrested, Defence Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval said on Friday. The victims' bodies were discovered by Jurez police a few days later in the bed of an abandoned pickup, officials said. The group formed when the Beltrn-Leyva brothers split from Sinaloa in 2008. with Heidi Campbell and Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, Mexicos Long War: Drugs, Crime, and the Cartels. Two Mexican Air Force aircraft were forced to make emergency landings after they were hit by gunfire from the cartel, Defence Minister Sandoval said. The next image they saw was a photograph of her lifeless body bleeding shortly after the recording. The news comes just one day after Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco met with members of Mexican security officials in Washington, D.C. in part to discuss the fentanyl crisis. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Murdered Protesters On March 2010, six farmers who had been protesting the building of a dam near Culiacan, Sinaloa were gunned down by Sinaloa Cartel gunmen during a firefight. Culiacn alone saw 116 murders, 24 of them policemen. Four of Chapo's Sons Indicted for Large-Scale Drug Trafficking, Money According to reports, Ismael (El Mayo) Zambada Garca, one of the cartels original members, and Guzmns sons assumed control of the organization, which remained incredibly powerful. Ex-Sinaloa 'sicario,' audio recordings shed light on 2010 Jurez The cowardly murder of two priests and a tour guide in northern Mexico has made headlines for the last week, but for the country's crime-ridden border states, it's just another example of everyday criminality. All rights reserved. Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). More than 100 flights were cancelled at local airports as a result. "Our bus had just passed a spot where it happened - literally, if we had waited another 30 minutes before passing, we would have been in the cross of it. The groom,Rafael Morales Valencia,who was fromColumbus, New Mexico,his brother, Jaime Morales Valencia, and their uncle, Guadalupe Morales Arreola, were kidnapped and killed during a drug war between the Sinaloa and Jurez drug cartels, according to court testimony and court documents. The trial began with juryselection Oct. 4, with a verdict reached Friday. President Donald Trump shifted U.S. priorities for Mrida to issues including border security and combating drug production and money laundering. A long-standing rival of Sinaloa, Jurez has its stronghold in the north-central state of Chihuahua, across the border from New Mexico and Texas. Europe Program, What Northern Ireland Teaches Us About Ending the Ukraine War, Article by Olivia Angelino, Thomas J. Bollyky, Elle Ruggiero and Isabella Turilli Since then, all four brothers have been arrested or killed, but their loyalists continue to operate throughout Mexico. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison. "The pioneers in hanging bodies were the Zetas cartel during the war against the Sinaloa Cartel in Coahuila and Tamaulipas states around the '90s," said David Saucedo, a Mexico-based security analyst. And in 2022, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seized more than 50 million fentanyl-laced pills, more than double the amount collected the year prior, the Justice Department said. SAN DIEGO - Four sons of Joaqun Guzmn Loera, the imprisoned former Sinaloa Cartel leader known as El Chapo, were indicted by a federal grand jury for large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering and violent crimes in connection with their assumption of cartel leadership following their father's arrest and extradition to the United States. On her back, the cartel members wrote I extort people for La Lnea. A rose was placed on top of her in the image of her body. The two are accused of being involved in the Sinaloa cartels operations Jurez in connection to murders, kidnappings, and drug trafficking. On April 24, 2012, the leaders and 22 other members of the cartel were charged with criminal activities ranging from trafficking drugs to conspiracy to kill in a foreign country. Officials claimedIglesias-Villegas was a "significant participant in the death of thousands of people in Ciudad Juarez from 2008 to 2011.". And, he asked him why hed lost a load of drugs. In Brief Both men were found guilty ofconspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes,racketeering conspiracy,conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute,conspiracy to import a controlled substance,and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Ivan Guzman Salazar, Alfredo Guzman Salazar, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez El Chapo's son allegedly made hundreds of millions of dollars by sending fentanyl to the U.S., according to the Justice Department. A video showed a Mexican cartel lining up. The killers are rivals of the Sinaloa cartel, . The cartel is allegedly responsible for waves of murders, kidnappings and assassinations. A related indictment charging three of the brothers was also unsealed by the Southern District of New York. Barbaric killings, amputations, ruthless extortion: The alarming rise Their bodies were left in an affluent area in Jurez along Avenida Plutarco Elas Calles. 2023 BBC. "We've also seen security guards, some in cars and some in big tanks going south. "It's no longer enough to protect our children from drug dealers in the park or on the street cornerbecause now those drug dealers ply their deadly trade on social media apps running on the phones in our kids' pockets," Monaco said. The expecting mother will need diapers and bottles, but she will also need comfy maternity clothes to wear throughout her pregnancy or a maternity pillow. Los Rojos. The Chapitos subsequently amassed greater control over the Sinaloa Cartel by allegedly threatening and causing violence against Damaso Lopez Nunez, his family, and his associates and, as a result, became principal leaders and drug traffickers within the Sinaloa Cartel. As the Sinaloa cartel warred with the rival Zetas (another cartel), some victims would be publicly beheaded, or have their murders posted on social media. told Ada County jurors on Monday that she tested three DNA profiles in connection with Vallow's murder case, including Lori, her 16-year-old daughter, Tylee Ryan, and her friend Melanie Gibb As the Mexican government intensified its efforts to arrest suspected drug lords, he eluded capture, but other cartel leaders were imprisoned, weakening organizations and giving rise to splinter groups. / CBS News. Sinaloa cartel leader arrested in connection to 1985 murder Mexico captured infamous drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the 1985 killing of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent and . A further 1,000 troops are being sent to Sinaloa to help with ongoing security measures. Corrections? Mexico later deployed twenty-five thousand National Guard members to secure its borders, which some experts say increased violence and diminished the countrys cartel-fighting capacity. Twenty-four hours of terror as cartel violence engulfs Mexican city April 25, 2023 The indictment alleges that for years, Joaqun Guzmn Loeras (El Chapo) sons have destroyed lives and communities through drug trafficking and violence: their time is up, said DEA Special Agent in Charge Shelly Howe. "We are doing everything in our power, and using every authority we have, to bring those responsible to justice," he added. CFRs Global Conflict Tracker looks at criminal violence in Mexico. His trial revealed some of the brutal details of how Mexico's drug cartels operate. US President Joe Biden is due to visit Mexico for a North American leaders' summit next week. Video, images show brutality of Sinaloa Cartel during trial in El Paso The New Yorker joins Mexican mothers as they search for the bodies of their children, who have disappeared amid Mexicos war on drugs. Over the decades, they have grown, splintered, forged new alliances, and battled one another for territory. The indictment said the defendants obtained guns and other weapons; bribed corrupt public officials; and incited, threatened and engaged in violence, including murder, kidnapping, assault, and battery against law enforcement, rival drug traffickers, and members of their own drug trafficking organization. HSI proudly stands with our local, state and federal partners as we disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations such as the Sinaloa Cartel to end the violence they fuel across the country. 1 nemesis, the Sinaloa Cartel, dominates the majority supply of everything from methamphetamine and heroin to the devastating synthetic opioid. Ovidio Guzmn-Lpez, 32, alleged to be a leader of his father's former cartel, was captured in Culiacn and flown to Mexico City on Thursday. Read about our approach to external linking. During the late '70s and 1980s, the Sinaloa Cartel worked with the Medellin cartel, establishing lucrative cocaine routes to the United States that spanned land, sea and air.After the group's 1985 murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena, the US and Mexico closed in on the cartel, causing several leaders to disperse across Mexico, leaving El Chapo and his partner Hctor Luis Palma Salazar as the . Why Mexican Drug Cartels Leave 'Calling Cards' With Their Murder Victims Sinaloa Cartel Fueling Chicago Murders: Report February 1, 2023 The FBI wants the four Chinese nationals captured and is offering a $1 million reward, though taking them into custody to face charges in the U.S. will likely prove difficult. Testimony came from several Mexicanlocal and state law enforcement officers who were working for the cartels and taking bribes to ignore the drug and weapon trafficking done by the criminal organization. Law enforcement officers also acted as bodyguards forhigh ranking members of the cartel, according to testimony. Traffickers employ various tactics to evade detection by U.S. authorities at the border. These indictments were made possible by our cooperation with local, state, and federal partners. The United States and South Korea are marking their seventy-year alliance with a state visit amid tighter defense collaboration. Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador (2018present). All schools across the whole state of Sinaloa were closed on Friday, the local government body overseeing education said. More:Sinaloa cartel members, law enforcement testify in 2nd week of 'Wedding Murders' trial. He also recalled the kidnapping of a man named Sergio Salcedo who was moved from one safe house to another in Jurez. While other organizations expanded into human trafficking and extortion, among other activities, the Sinaloa cartel remained largely centred on drugs. Mexican President Andrs Lpez Obrador said Mexican forces had acted responsibly to look after the civilian population and avoid innocent victims. These partnerships demonstrate our collective commitment to tracking down, apprehending, and dismantling one of the strongest drug trafficking cartels from the top down., Today, the Justice Department is announcing significant enforcement actions against the largest, most violent, and most prolific fentanyl trafficking operation in the world run by the Sinaloa Cartel, and fueled by Chinese precursor chemical and pharmaceutical companies, said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. Sinaloa notably gained territory from both the Tijuana and Jurez cartels, solidifying its position as one of the worlds most-powerful drug syndicates. The Chapitos allegedly used cargo aircraft, private aircraft, submarines and other submersible and semi-submersible vessels, container ships, supply vessels, go-fast boats, fishing vessels, buses, rail cars, tractor trailers, automobiles, and private and commercial interstate and foreign carriers to transport their drugs and precursor chemicals. Secure .gov websites use HTTPSA lock ( In sweeping indictments, the Justice Department targeted two dozen operatives in the Chapitos network of the Sinaloa cartel. Weekly. The PRIs unbroken reign finally ended in 2000 with the election of President Vicente Fox of the conservative National Action Party (PAN). Investigations into the students disappearances have purportedly found evidence that authorities, including the police and military, conspired with cartel members in the crimes; the government launched a new inquiry after the students families, human rights groups, and independent experts questioned the handling of the previous investigation. But during and after the arrest, 10 soldiers and 19 suspects were killed.