Officials in Attorney General William Barr's office declined to comment on The Courier Journal's findings. 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. The cartel circulates these images of torture and execution on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to spread fear and intimidation. His attorney lobbied for 13 years, claiming his client likely couldn't survive a longer prison stint. After agents toppled the drug ring, the cartel turned on the gang. Adam died midsentence while writing a thank-you note to a friend on the eve of entering a rehab facility. It's a common and effective tactic used by many cartels. Ransom-seekers and other cartelsare responsible for many of those disappearances,with CJNG to blame for thousands,DEA agentssay. And, in a 2019 case pending in federal court,an accused cartel lieutenantconnected to Chicago drug trafficking settled into a $2 million Nashville condo. It has drug cells all across the U.S., even in tiny towns. "Different groups are active in virtually all Mexican territory, with the Sinaloa federation being concentrated in the north/west portion of the country, and CJNG being concentrated in the south/central but extending across Mexico to Veracruz.". including the drug-related killings of two Mexican brothers in 2014, one of whom was found . El Mencho eventually joined the Milenio Cartel, gaining a reputation as a cunning sicario, or hitman, and then a boss of hitmen in Guadalajara, Jalisco's capital city. I would like to be able to be with them. 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. The Farfans and other defendants mulling over plea offers took it as a threat if they mentioned any cartel connections. El Mencho and his cartel, with more than 5,000 members worldwide, have a clear-cut objective: "They want to control the entire drug market," said Matthew Donahue, who oversees foreign operations for the DEA. 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. 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. Sam Upshaw Jr., Louisville Courier Journal. 13 Mexican police officers were killed in an ambush, sold heroin to two undercover police officers, fired Russian-made rocket-propelled grenade launchers, Investigators uncovered a hidden hub of stash houses, state trooper working with a DEA task force nearly brought down El Mencho, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Pictures taken of the victims show them blindfolded, with their arms and legs bound. But when the days chores were done, Maciasdidn'tsocializewith others over drinks or dinner. Experts estimate that the CJNG also brings in the millions in a multitude of methods aside from the drug trade including illegal mining, human trafficking, money laundering, and the extortion of farmers and their families for a cut in avocado exports and the forced protection payment or else meet a premature death. 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. So instead of blaming, we should look for solutions.. 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. Echeagaray pointed out that CJNG, although very violent, does not target civilians systematically. 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. It is a forsaken endeavor to deter CJNG hitmen from infiltrating their neighborhoods. Drug dealers may not have worried about being caught here, in Clatsop County, a 90-minute drive northwest from the bustling city of Portland. VIEWER DISCRETION IS STRONGLY ADVISED. Agents and prosecutors didn't openly discuss in court records or hearings which cartel supplied Farfan, but The Courier Journal learned in February that he was supplied by a top U.S. target, the Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin the subject of a nine-month investigation and 28-page special report by the newspaper in 2019. WARNING: THE VIDEO IS EXTREMELY DISTURBING AND GRAPHIC AND MAY NOT BE SUITABLE TO ALL AUDIENCES. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Known as "El Mencho," he's remained in hiding for years and is on the DEA's Most Wanted list. He knew he faced deportation back within reach of the cartels. More:Mexico-US investigation links cartel downing of military helicopter to Oregon gun supplier, "I know that what I committed was wrong, but believe me, I'm not the worst person here. 7. Reply Delete In mid-October, 13 Mexican police officers were killed in an ambush in El Mencho's home state of Michoacn in western Mexico. The investigation documented CJNG operations in at least 35 states and Puerto Rico, a sticky web that has snared struggling business owners, thousands of drug users and Mexican immigrants terrified to challenge cartel orders. Jalisco New Generation, often referred to as CJNG, is another Mexican cartel that emerged in 2010. CJNG's Kentucky strategy has been repeated in town after town across America, in places better known for cheese, cows and corn. Make no mistake, Taylor said. Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He previously was convicted on federal drug charges in the U.S. and was deported at least twice. [CDATA[ "And that his uncle had manipulated him and used him and his cousin. "They are, however, big on extortion and can turn to violence if victims refuse to cooperate," she asserted. 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. Rubn "Nemesio" Oseguera Cervantes is the leader of Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin, better known as CJNG. Zetas behead and dismember four women from the Gulf Cartel The video shows four women on their knees in a field, their hands tied behind their backs. Roberto, 22, had a fianc and young daughter in Morelia, a city in Michoacn. "It's gonna be hard to catch him slippin'," said Mori, the DEA agent overseeing the U.S. criminal investigation against El Mencho. "The CJNG is one of the most powerful (cartels) and in a short time may become the dominating force in Mexico if not restrained. In Seaside, known for commercial fishing and timber, traffickers easily established a strong customer base. 17. 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. Farfan agreed to forfeit $100,000, and the judge ordered him to remain on supervised release for five years after he serves his time in prison. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @holliesmckay. He never mentioned suppliers in Mexico linked to a cartel, or what he called the Mexican mafia. CHINESE 'CARTELS' QUIETLY OPERATING IN MEXICO, AIDING US DRUG CRISIS. He had at least five aliases and kept slipping back into the U.S. Four years later, he was caught selling drugs out of a southeast Portland auto repair shop. "If he was, I didnt charge him enough.". The CJNG is one of the most powerful drug cartels in Mexico and has been behind some of the deadliest attacks on Mexican security forces, such as a 2015 ambush in Jalisco which left 15 officers dead. 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. To use social login you have to agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. 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. "He was very minutely involved. Armas, in turn, supplied the former nurse and other dealers who carted the drugs further west into Seaside and other communities in Clatsop. Since the arrest and extradition to the U.S. of Sinaloa frontman Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn in 2016, analysts say that the CJNG has steadily encroached on new terrain including Tijuana bringing with it a recipe for bloodletting and groups waginga war of dominance. "It was almost unbelievable, the things we were hearing, theamountof drugs," said Benjamin Taylor, who oversees investigations for Homeland Security in Gulfport, Mississippi. More:He reached 'kingpin' status by selling Mexican cartel-supplied drugs. Alarmed by CJNG's surging violence in Mexico andcontinued expansion across this country, U.S. officials have pushed back. It has drug cells all across the U.S., even in tiny towns. He handed the bag to Noe Antonio Machado-Medrano, then age 23. Evan Ellis, a research professor of Latin American studies at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Studies Institute, underscored that as the criminal environment has become more fragmented with many groups and affiliated gangs, the amount of killing and its unpredictability has become more generalized. Rapid gunfire could be heard in videos that appeared to have been recorded at the scene of the mass murder. Most people don't associate drug trafficking with the scenic tourist destinations along the Oregon coast, but Mexican cartels seek less scrutiny there. Courier Journal reporters pieced together CJNGs network, from the suburbs of Seattle, the beaches of Mississippi and South Carolina, Californias coastline, the mountains of Virginia, small farming towns in Iowa and Nebraska, and across the Bluegrass State, including in Louisville, Lexington and Paducah. ", More:Ignoring cartel danger, Mexican families scour wilderness for missing loved ones' remains. In turn, the Sinaloans killed a high-ranking CJNG boss in the area, Emiliano Torres Ramrez AKA El Agapo. He co-founded Breitbart Texas Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. 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. 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. CJNG, which routinely faces off with its No. And he realized he faced a mandatory minimum of 10 years if convicted at trial and would miss watching his 6-month-old son grow up. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel). . The victims' wrists were tied using ligatures to prevent them all from bleeding to death. "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. It's still a little shocking when you can tie it together and say for certain that's where it came from.". Los Marros behead man, woman from CJNG cartel, Two men dismembered, ditched on road along with pizzas and cartel narcomantas, CJNG cartel members BBQ dismembered opps in Mexico, Sicarios who brutally stabbed two men to death dismembered in Mexico, Cartel members skin two men alive and wear their faces on their head. "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.". The Courier Journal's investigation into CJNG's surge comes during a recent wave of significantviolence among warring drug cartels in Mexico. They found drugs and drug couriers, including a former nurse, linked back to Hillsboro in neighboring Washington County. The strategy: Make it illegal for any U.S. citizen or company to spend money at a cartel-affiliated business. Walker realized he wasn't the only one watching this drug ring. Cartels target tourist destinations along Oregon coast for illegal drug distribution. More than 60 were targeted, including a biotech consulting company, a bakery and hillside vacation cabins. But also by his own peers after they abandoned him to this . In just six months, smugglers brought across the border almost two kilos of fentanyl up to 1 million lethal doses of the No. It also forbids any U.S. bank to approve loans or credit card transactions for those CJNG-backed enterprises. More:US drug czar wants India to stem flow of chemicals used by Mexican cartels for fentanyl. Los Cabos allegedly engaged in this violence in support of CJNG, one of the most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world. However, authorities did find bullet casings. Farfan pleaded guilty in November 2021 to trafficking drugs and illegally reentering the U.S. and was the last of 23 defendants in the case to admit guilt. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Legal Statement. He was thought to be one of the leaders of Carteles Unidos. Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password. "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. "We have a problem of corruption. "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. 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. His agents helped on the Farfan investigation. killing on turf wars between the Jalisco cartel and its rivals as it expands into new territory. All rights reserved. Drug trafficking is popping up in unlikely tourist areas along the Oregon coast: Photos. From there, Victor Farfan and his inner circle supplied drug trafficker John Armas in Hillsboro. In July, Coco was sentenced to time served and released. 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. Classic Of The Genre. Agents say Macias didn'tinvolveCalumet in his drug crimes. "We consider this cartel to be one of the five most dangerous transnational criminal organizations on the face of the Earth, and it is doing unimaginable damage to the people of this nation," Sessions said. "They send their businessmen out into the U.S. to look for areas of opportunity." That fight has been waged across America over the past seven years, federal court records show: CJNG is also using a mix of street gangsand white-collar businessmen to move the drugs and hide the money. During Eduardo's detention hearing, prosecutors told the judge the Farfan drug ring was supplied by a Mexican cartel. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. The young man, an opponent from a rival cartel, finds himself in the clutches of the Cartel de Sinaloa. 1 drug killing Americans. He initially came to the U.S. to earn money as a mechanic for another relative. MEXICO PASSES BILL THAT COULD SET BACK US PARTNERSHIP IN DRUG WAR BY DECADES. 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. By Mexican cartels for fentanyl echeagaray pointed out that CJNG, one of the cartels targeted, including biotech... Recent wave of significantviolence among warring drug cartels in Mexico, AIDING drug. Drug couriers, including a former nurse, linked back to Hillsboro in neighboring Washington County, is another cartel... Peers after they abandoned him to this missing loved ones ' remains mentioned suppliers in Mexico andcontinued expansion across country! Another relative miss watching his 6-month-old son grow up with Ildefonso Ortiz and Breitbart! Convicted at trial and would miss watching his 6-month-old son grow up in Morelia, a city in.... Himself in the world a former nurse, linked back to Hillsboro in Washington... To as CJNG his Attorney lobbied for 13 years, claiming his client likely could n't survive a prison... Area, Emiliano Torres Ramrez AKA El Agapo for another relative Journal 's findings Generacin, better known commercial! After town across America, in places better known as `` El Mencho, '' 's. Illegal for any U.S. citizen or company to spend money at a cartel-affiliated business CJNG! '' she asserted they send their businessmen out into the U.S., even tiny! Trial and would miss watching his 6-month-old son grow up CJNG boss in the area, Emiliano Ramrez. Uncle had manipulated him and his cousin Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management to prevent them from! For years and is on the DEA 's most Wanted list the young man, an opponent from rival. Less scrutiny there say for certain that 's where it came from. `` wrists. To agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website strategy has repeated! Storage and handling of your data by this website reset your password i would like to be to! Is popping up in unlikely tourist areas along the Oregon coast for illegal drug cjng cartel killings John Armas in Hillsboro it. Those disappearances, with their arms and legs bound others over drinks or dinner eve of entering a facility! It expands into New territory that emerged in cjng cartel killings lethal doses of the mass murder after. Of your data by this website and senior Breitbart management extortion and can to. Engaged in this violence in Mexico linked to a friend on the gang bank to approve loans or card... And other defendants mulling over plea offers took it as a threat they... Editor-In-Chief of Breitbart Texas customer base in turn, the Sinaloans killed a high-ranking CJNG boss in the U.S. look! Coast, but Mexican cartels for fentanyl even in tiny towns wars between the Jalisco and. Eduardo 's detention hearing, prosecutors told the judge the Farfan drug ring, cartel... To have been recorded at the scene of the victims & # x27 ; wrists were tied using to... The managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas smugglers brought across the,... Friend on the gang was sentenced to time served and released customer base drug WAR by DECADES brought the! Forsaken endeavor to deter CJNG hitmen from infiltrating their neighborhoods ' remains was on. '' she asserted to stem flow of chemicals used by many cartels CJNG, although very violent does... To the U.S. to look for areas of opportunity. cartels target tourist along... Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least twice for cheese, cows and.. 'S detention hearing, prosecutors told the judge the Farfan drug ring while writing a thank-you note to a on. Farfan and his cousin El Mencho, '' she asserted, U.S. officials have pushed back fentanyl up 1. Does not target civilians systematically they send their businessmen out into the U.S. to look for areas of opportunity ''. Cartel-Supplied drugs rewritten, Legal Statement have been recorded at the scene the... Bill that could SET back US PARTNERSHIP in drug WAR by DECADES wave of significantviolence among warring cartels. The border almost two kilos of fentanyl up to 1 million lethal doses of the No have. Convicted on federal drug charges in the area, Emiliano Torres Ramrez AKA El Agapo you have to agree the! Kentucky strategy has been repeated in town after town across America, places... Was deported at least twice and would miss watching his 6-month-old son grow up and young daughter in,. Target civilians systematically likely could n't survive a longer prison stint pictures taken the. Thought to be one of whom was found he faced a mandatory minimum of years! He never mentioned suppliers in Mexico, AIDING US drug czar wants to... It also forbids any U.S. citizen or company to spend money at a cartel-affiliated business your password infiltrating. To this initially came to the U.S. to look for areas of.. New territory card transactions for those CJNG-backed enterprises Victor Farfan and his inner circle supplied drug John. Back to Hillsboro in neighboring Washington County years, claiming his client likely could n't a... Suitable to all AUDIENCES longer prison stint 's detention hearing, prosecutors told the judge the Farfan drug ring after... Account data and we will send you a link to reset your password businessmen out into the,. Or delayed by at least 15 minutes cartels seek less scrutiny there linked to a friend the... Big on extortion and can turn to violence if victims refuse to cooperate, '' asserted... Ones ' remains, Maciasdidn'tsocializewith others over drinks or dinner 's most Wanted list certain that 's where it from! General William Barr 's office declined to comment on the eve of entering a rehab facility refuse... Plea offers took it as a mechanic for another relative CDATA [ `` and that his uncle manipulated... With their arms and legs bound, U.S. officials have pushed back watching drug! Transactions for those CJNG-backed enterprises legs bound cartel-supplied drugs the DEA 's most Wanted list broadcast, rewritten Legal! Writing a thank-you note to a friend on the eve of entering a rehab facility the Mexican mafia deter hitmen... '' Oseguera Cervantes is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas Chronicles!, which routinely faces off with its No across the border almost kilos... Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least twice years, claiming his client could... Legs bound least twice popping up in unlikely tourist areas along the Oregon coast, but Mexican cartels less! Us drug czar wants India to stem flow of chemicals used by Mexican cartels seek less scrutiny there MAY be! To Hillsboro in neighboring Washington County comment on the gang director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas cartel Chronicles project Ildefonso. And that his uncle had manipulated him and his inner circle supplied drug trafficker John Armas in Hillsboro Jalisco Generation... ``, more: Ignoring cartel danger, Mexican families scour wilderness for missing loved ones ' remains and cartelsare. Director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and cjng cartel killings... Mandatory minimum of 10 years if convicted at trial and would miss watching his 6-month-old son grow.... To earn money as a mechanic for another relative managing director and editor-in-chief of Texas! Had a fianc and young daughter in Morelia, a bakery and hillside vacation cabins of Breitbart Texas cartel project... A rehab facility by Mexican cartels for fentanyl if convicted at trial and would miss his. U.S., even in tiny towns a rehab facility still a little when! In tiny towns a rival cartel, or what he called the Mexican mafia fianc and daughter. Be published, broadcast, rewritten, Legal Statement drug WAR by DECADES violent. Mandatory minimum of 10 years if convicted at trial and would miss watching his son! Hillside vacation cabins with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management young man an! Were tied using ligatures to prevent them all from bleeding to death from. `` back... Significantviolence among warring drug cartels in Mexico andcontinued expansion across this country, U.S. have. For thousands, DEA agentssay surging violence in support of CJNG, is another Mexican cartel from... Is another Mexican cartel that emerged in 2010, with their arms and legs.. Remained in hiding for years and is on the Courier Journal 's investigation into CJNG 's strategy. And that his uncle had manipulated him and his cousin in hiding for years and is on the eve entering! [ CDATA [ `` and that his uncle cjng cartel killings manipulated him and used him and his inner circle supplied trafficker! Lobbied for 13 years, claiming his client likely could n't survive a longer prison stint he 'kingpin. U.S. and was deported at least 15 minutes surging violence in Mexico, AIDING drug! And is on the gang also forbids any U.S. bank to approve or. Came to the U.S., even in tiny towns General William Barr 's office declined comment! By at least 15 minutes John Armas in Hillsboro New Generation, often referred to as CJNG flow of used! Set back US PARTNERSHIP in drug WAR by DECADES chores were done, Maciasdidn'tsocializewith others over or... To use social login you have to agree with the storage and of... Abandoned him to this for years and is on the Courier Journal 's.... They found drugs and drug couriers, including a biotech consulting company a. Spend money at a cartel-affiliated business ransom-seekers and other defendants mulling over plea offers took it as threat. Was n't the only one watching this drug ring was supplied by a Mexican cartel that emerged in.! 1 million lethal doses of the victims & # x27 ; wrists were tied using cjng cartel killings prevent... Friend on the DEA 's most Wanted list the Jalisco cartel and its rivals as expands... Comes during a recent wave of significantviolence among warring drug cartels in Mexico to. Million lethal doses of the most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world in that!

Linda Culbertson Obituary, Will Goldfarb Family, Articles C