"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. The Farfans and other defendants mulling over plea offers took it as a threat if they mentioned any cartel connections. Their current. 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. 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 June 2015, the Mexican military arrested El Menchos son and second-in-command, Rubn Oseguera Gonzles. Reporter Beth Warren: bwarren@courier-journal.com; 502-582-7164; Twitter @BethWarrenCJ. Who is El Mencho, the most powerful drug kingpin in the world? U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon said he was troubled by Farfan's repeated drug crimes dating back at least to 1999. Based on the average street value, its trade could net upwards of $8.1 billion for cocaine and $4.6 billion for crystal meth each year. "That's the type ofterrorists were dealing with here.". But wrestling for land jurisdiction is only a piece of the CJNG puzzle. Just hours after the crash, the cartel carried out coordinated attacks in 39 cities, blowingup banks, gas stations and setting cars and semis on fire on major highways to slow down police reinforcements. The DEA's Donahue said many were taken toremote paramilitary camps where they were trained asassassins. Another Puzzle From The Mexican Cartel. "When they shot the helicopter out of the sky is when everyone respected CJNG as a powerhouse cartel and a rival of Sinaloa,"Donahue said. Additional Video Update: There is an additional video of a fight against state police that took place in the town of Tizapn El Alto. She recruited helpers, too, and they frequently made deposits of less than $10,000 amounts small enough to dodge federal reporting requirements at bank branches in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee,as well asGreensboro and Winston-Salem,North Carolina. Pineda Penaloza and his crew were convicted of drug trafficking and are now in federal prison. They stormed a hideout west of Guadalajara, but the cartel leader climbed into a vehicle and was rushed to safety. We see them operating illegal marijuana farms in southern Oregon.". More:This small-town Oregon bricklayer had a side hustle: Gun supplier for Mexican drug cartel. According to Mexico News Daily, more than 500 people in communities around the municipalities of Aguililla and Buenavista have deserted their homes and fled in fear for their lives as the fighting soars. UNCENSORED VIDEO BELOW / New horrifying video shows three CJNG cartel members beheading two men from a rival cartel in Mexico. That load was headed from Portland to Baltimore. "But 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. His agents helped on the Farfan investigation. Theyve got their money," Williams 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. But federal agents say CJNG was Kentuckys main supplier of fentanyl at the time of his death. A high-ranking state official in Jaliscosaid Americans are too quick to blame Mexico for the U.S. drug crisis. Treasury Department officials stood with Sessions and announced more sanctions on businesses linked to CJNG and its affiliate, Los Cuinis. He was thought to be one of the leaders of Carteles Unidos. Further details Roberto Alderete revealed about CJNG remain hidden in sealed documents. While the CJNG makes no effortsto hide its beef with adverse cartels and Mexican military and law enforcement, civilians are all too often caught in the cryptic crossfire. Mexican Cartel Members Behead Two Men. Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password. A cartel member even worked at Kentucky's famed Calumet Farm, home to eight Kentucky Derby and three Triple Crown winners. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"AT9cPsLXmTcu5DvoOKyYtBnoaFpnyDzcOkF8t9PIjh4-1800-0"}; Legal Statement. Selling drugs in bulk to local traffickers, who then sold to area dealers. The group has also upped the ante for sea and air authority too fighting the likes of Sinaloa and the vestiges of Los Zetas and Los Pelones to take heed over the vital port of Chetumal and the Yucatan Peninsula, according to ananalysisby InSight Crime. "I know Im not that person," he said, refusing to elaborate. . His cousin, Roberto Carlos Farfan Alvarez, known as "Raton" or "Mouse," pleaded guilty but never talked to police. She got her older sister, a struggling single mom, involved to make quick money. He agreed to talk to agents only about certain drug crimes, including detailing his actions and his uncle's actions inside the U.S., after a judge released him from jail on bond and after his elder family members gave him their blessing. Businesses in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Los Angeles would buy the goldand then send the payments through wire transfers to Mexico including to Parra Pedroza's precious metals business. Explore the investigation wall showing the connections of El Mencho and CJNG cartel. Despite the capture of certain top leaders, it is now Mexico's foremost criminal threat . The cartel exploits its connections with otherwise hard-working immigrants, said Dan Dodds, who leads DEA operations in Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia. His boss, Eddie Kane, Calumet's general manager, declined repeated requests for comment. Sanctions recently imposed by the United States and Mexico on CJNG members allegedly linked to two high-profile murders demonstrate that the criminal group is one of the few remaining with a traditional hierarchical structure. He previously was convicted on federal drug charges in the U.S. and was deported at least twice. CJNG burns rivals face alive as a way of mocking his nickname Ghost Rider. Cartel members fired hundreds of rounds and hurled grenades and jugs of gasoline. State and federal authorities have been unable to stop a fierce war in Michoacan between the CJNG and Carteles Unidos, an alliance of smaller regional organizations with proxy support from the Sinaloa Cartel. Unlike most cartels and affiliated crime units that permeate Mexico, the CJNG has long posted its most extreme real-life horror films on display for the world to see across social media beheaded bodies left to hang and rot on bridges in broad daylight and beatings so brutal that the sound of bones cracking can be heard. or redistributed. A federal grand jury had indicted him and more than 20 others on money laundering and drug trafficking charges. hammering his body with at least three bullets, stolen cars converted into armored vehicles to drones and high-powered machine guns. The cartel has run brothels in Mexico, often using teens and women forced into CJNG's web. But betrayal awaited, "We see these nodes or pockets of cartel-related activity springing up in small, rural towns on the east side of Washington, in metropolitan areas like Portland and Seattle. Market data provided by Factset. The CJNG has also been accused of directly extorting businesses in the capital. Cannibalism in Mexico! I hate violence," according to a transcript of the hearing, with Farfan appearing before the judge from prison on Zoom. Macias' associate, Imanol Pineda Penaloza, headed a cell in Louisville while running his drug business through his used tire shop, Los 3 Hermanos. "My family knows Im not that person. They found drugs and drug couriers, including a former nurse, linked back to Hillsboro in neighboring Washington County. He co-founded Breitbart Texas Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darbyand senior Breitbart management. //]]>. WARNING: THE VIDEO IS EXTREMELY DISTURBING AND GRAPHIC AND MAY NOT BE SUITABLE TO ALL AUDIENCES. The victim screamed in pain and begged them to kill him. As they hovered over a cartel convoy, CJNG members fired Russian-made rocket-propelled grenade launchers, shooting down Morales helicopterinto a cluster of trees. 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. CJNG's rapid rise to power and its expansion havestunned and stymied Americas top drug fighters. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Still, The Courier Journal traveled to Portland, its suburbs, the Oregon coast and Seattle to review court records and interview federal agents, defense attorneys and prosecutors to learn about the Farfan drug ring, its cartel ties and how it finally imploded. 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. Police found seven guns in the couple's bedroom. Most people don't associate drug trafficking with the scenic tourist destinations along the Oregon coast, but Mexican cartels seek less scrutiny there. 1 killer. "When you hear about the drug cartels and the amounts of drugs coming across the border, you start thinking those are big city problems," said Clatsop County Sheriff's Sgt. "What are they doing way out in the middle of nowhere?" 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. 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. If someone you love dies from an overdose tonight, he may very well be to blame. CJNGmembers or associates would sell drugs to traffickers inWisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Georgia, California, Texas, Kentucky, Illinois and North Carolina. In addition, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has a $10 million bounty on El Mencho's head, given that his rule and his rapid rise to power also bears a devastating impact across the U.S. "While the distribution in U.S. markets is principally through affiliated gangs and proxy groups, the CJNG is thusindirectly responsible for the production of illicit drugs that kill thousands of Americans," Ellis said. One of the working law enforcement theories suggests the gunmen were targeting a former ally attending his mothers funeral. Because it's here, A short film: What Courier Journal uncovered about Jalisco New Generation Cartel's El Mencho. "Theyre killing the next generation, and one of them was my son," Brenda Cooley said. She has extensively reported from war zones including Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma, and Latin America investigates global conflicts, war crimes and terrorism around the world. But someCJNGbossesdidnt follow those rules. Tifa Winters. Who was to blame? The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is Mexico's most violent crime gang. He handed the bag to Noe Antonio Machado-Medrano, then age 23. Its extreme savagery in Mexico includes beheadings, public hangings, acid baths, even cannibalism. Alderete was indicted in September 2019 in Chicago on charges of trafficking more than a kilo of heroin and at least 400 grams of fentanyl from May to June of this year. The Elite Group is the top tier enforcement wing of the Jalisco New GeneralCartel, often referred to as CJNG. ", The mother of his two youngest children wrote a letter saying: "He is one of the greatest fathers that there is. In June, operatives attempted to assassinate Mexico City's police chief, Omar Garcia Harfuch hammering his body with at least three bullets and slaying two of his bodyguards. LOG IN TO WATCH THIS VIDEO. Other bosses used threats of violence in the U.S., despite El Mencho's warnings against it. Provided by McCracken County Sheriff's Department. The Courier Journal's investigation into CJNG's surge comes during a recent wave of significantviolence among warring drug cartels in Mexico. A video allegedly showing El Cholo surrounded by CJNG captors was uploaded ahead of the mutilated body's discovery Credit: YouTube. CJNG's plan tomove intosmall-town America and cashin on the country's addiction crisis played out in Lexington, Kentucky. Agents say he typically travels in a convoy, surrounding himself withdozens of well-trained mercenaries armed with military-grade weapons that can tear through tanks, even aircraft. It has drug cells all across the U.S., even in tiny towns. There's a serious danger. He also didn't want to be shunned by his close-knit family for betraying his uncle, a senior relative. "They send their businessmen out into the U.S. to look for areas of opportunity." Farfan wasn't as lucky. Both serve as popular entry ports for the precursor chemicals in synthetic drugs, mostly brought in fromChina. 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. Signs have also pointed to CJNG widening its footprint in the capital, Mexico City, aligning itself with the Fuerza Anti-Union gang to tackle the city's most extensive criminal enterprise, La Unin Tepito. 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. And for those who make the gut-wrenching decision to stay, life has been reduced to the desperate, defensive gambit ofdigging trenchesacross highways in western Michoacn. To build their lucrativedrug networks in the U.S., CJNG bosses mandated discretion to dodge police attention. They are surrounded by 13 masked men, apparently Los Zetas hitmen, who point their rifles at them. Last year, a judge sentenced Eduardo to 30 months behind bars, followed by five years supervised release. It's a common and effective tactic used by many cartels. And federal prosecutors alleged in court that convicted drug traffickerJesus Enrique Palomera, theleader of a cartel cell in Tacoma, Washington, ordered the kidnapping and murderof a manwhose fingers and toes werechopped off a commonmethod of torturein Mexico. They seized more than $1 million in drug moneyhis couriers were hauling to Mexico. Snchez was once a top lieutenant in the CJNG, but split to form his own cartel called La Nueva Plaza in 2017. His attorney, Noel Grefenson, declined comment for this story. To help Maciassmuggle drugs into the U.S., cartel leaders used a Toyota Camry with a secret compartment on the armrest that opened through a sequence of steps: Turnon the heater. It was run by a deported felon who kept sneaking back across the border. It could hide 9 kilos of drugs and a pile of cash. 12:52 you're really coward and pathetic what about cjng all the killings from . Watch a man being brutally beheaded by rival Cartel members in Mexico! 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. Market data provided by Factset. "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. He remained in prison until his deportation in 2015, court records show. Robertois awaiting sentencing in Paducah in August for trafficking meth while armed with a gun. The teenager sneaked into the U.S. and triedto build a customer base as a street-level dealer. Armas also asked them to repackage large amounts of drugs and sell out of their home to users as well as mid-level dealers. Armas, in turn, supplied the former nurse and other dealers who carted the drugs further west into Seaside and other communities in Clatsop. More:US drug czar wants India to stem flow of chemicals used by Mexican cartels for fentanyl. Brenda and Karl Cooley of Louisville certainly didnt know his name when their son Adam overdosed on fentanyl in March 2017. In the past, student filmmakers have been kidnapped and tortured to death, journalists frequently killed before they can even begin to probe a likely CJNG crime, dozens of lawmakers and judges have been butchered and death threats have haunted scores of Mexican officials. Dozens of couriers throughout the U.S. would then collect the drug profits and use the dirty moneyto buy scrap and fine gold. "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. 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. He never mentioned suppliers in Mexico linked to a cartel, or what he called the Mexican mafia. In Mexico, a DEA investigator said he was stunned when he learned CJNG cells were popping up in communities as small as Axton. "As well as those who suffer from a lack of economic opportunity because businesses cannot thrive, and a lack of quality of life because public services, in some ways, do not function well.". He is loving, respectful and a very caring human being.". In Seaside, known for commercial fishing and timber, traffickers easily established a strong customer base. The Courier Journal could not say with certainty who supplied the drugs that killed Adam Cooley. But in America, few know who he is or why his rise to power matters. 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. He quickly amassed a privatearmy, with CJNG members recruitingor kidnappinghundreds of men in their 20s and boys as young as 12. "Your weapons laws (in the U.S.) are too weak," with American guns often ending up in the hands of cartel members in Mexico, he said. 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. In disturbing footage, thugs smash a man's face into a truck before kicking and punching him on the floor. The billion-dollar criminal organization has a large and disciplined army, control of extensive drug routes throughout the U.S., sophisticated money-laundering techniques and an elaborate digital terror campaign, federal drug agents say. CJNGs increased distribution of fentanyl across the country has helped the synthetic opioid unseat heroin as the nations No. It has an army of 5,000 members . El Menchos powerful international syndicate is flooding the U.S. with thousands of kilos of methamphetamines, heroin, cocaine and fentanyl every year despite being targeted repeatedly by undercover stings, busts and lengthy investigations. Hollie McKay has a been a Fox News Digital staff reporter since 2007. Throughout Mexico, more than 40,000 children and adults remain missing. 2023www.courier-journal.com. 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. In America,ElMenchoexpectscartel members and associates to avoid violence, hidewealth anddisguise their CJNG affiliations, agents say. //
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