WASHINGTON (AP) — The investigation began several years ago after two drug dealers got involved in a car accident in a small Tennessee town. A series of secret eavesdropping, gunfights with police and discovering drugs hidden in tractor trailers ultimately led federal investigators to leaders of the Mexican cartel.
The investigation peaked with Justice Department indictments sealed Thursday against three leaders and two senior enforcers of the United Cartel. Jalisco New Generation cartel.
The US government offers a Rewards up to $10 million Juan Jose Faria Alvarez, the top leader of the United Cartel – information leading to the arrest of “el Abuello” or grandfather, along with the multi-million dollar rewards of the other four. All five are thought to be in Mexico.
caseas outlined in court documents, we can get a glimpse of how drugs produced by violent cartels in large Mexican laboratories can cross the US border and reach American streets. They also highlight the violent fallout that drug trafficking is on the road from the mountains of Mexico to small towns in the US.
“These cases serve as strong reminders of the insidious impact that global cartels can have on local American communities,” Matthew Galeotti, acting Attorney General, who serves the Department of Justice’s criminal division, said in an interview with the Associated Press. “The chain started out as a violent Mexican cartel and ended with law enforcement shots in a small town.”
United Cartels are umbrella organizations made up of small cartels who have worked in various groups over time. It has a strong grasp of the western state of Michoacan, Mexico, and avocado exports are an area of economic interest to the United States.
The United Cartel is not widely known as the new generation of Jalisco, but has become the biggest target for US law enforcement, given its role as a prolific methamphetamine producer. It was one of eight groups recently named Foreign terrorist organizations By the Trump administration.
Car accident and abandoned protective cases
The case dates back to 2019, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in court. While escaping the scene of the crash, they threw a hardened conservation case filled with scalpels at the back of the building before being caught by police, according to court documents.
Authorities have launched an investigation using eavesdropping, search warrants and surveillance to identify men believed to lead major drug rings in the Atlanta area: Eladio Mendoza.
An investigation into Mendoza’s alleged drug activity led law enforcement to a hotel near Atlanta in early 2020. During their surveillance, authorities find a man leaving with a large Doritos bag. The trooper attempts to stop the man after running from Georgia to Tennessee, but he escapes and fires an AK-style rifle at the officer, slamming him in the foot before another trooper fires him. In the bag, police found females and heroin and identified him as a low-level dealer for Mendoza’s drug rings, court records say.
A few weeks later, authorities searched for properties linked to Mendoza and seized the phone. They discovered a message between Mendoza and close peers of “El Abuero,” the leader of the United Cartel, according to court records. At one of the Mendoza facilities, investigators found a tractor trailer that had crossed from Mexico a few days ago. When they searched it, authorities seized 850 kilograms of methane on the truck floor and discovered more medicines in the bus and facility home, court documents say.
Mendoza fled the United States some time later and returned to Mexico, where he was killed by a cartel leader who was angry at U.S. authorities seized cash and drugs, according to prosecutors.
Cartels are targeted by terrorist designations
The incident represents the latest efforts by the Republican administration. Raises cartel pressure not only through indictment of group leaders, but also through sanctions targeting financial networks. Ministry of Finance It also brings economic sanctions against the five defendants and the United Cartel as a cartel under its umbrella.
“We have to chase these criminals up and down the chain to make sure the end result does not result in violence or drug distribution on our streets,” Galeotti said.
In addition to “El Abuero,” those facing US charges are Alfonso Fernandez Magalon, or Poncho, Nicolas Sierra Santana or “El Gordo,” and authorities say they are leading a small cartel under the United Cartel organization. The other two defendants are Edgar Orozco Cabadas or “El Camoni” who had been communicating with Mendoza, and Luis Enrique Barragan Chavaz, or “Wichou,” who is serving as deputy at Magallon, according to authorities.
The Trump administration has seen massive cooperation from Mexico in recent months by taking over the cartel leaders that U.S. authorities wanted.
In February, Mexico sent 29 drug cartel figures to the United States. Behind the 1985 murder of US DEA agentsto the US, and on Tuesday, the Mexican government moved to US custody. 26 additional cartel leaders and other high ranking membersincluding a man charged with the murder of a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy.
“We are working with Mexican authorities to pursue these individuals,” Galeotti said. “We continue to work actively with them and hope they can help us to ensure the presence of these individuals in US courts.”
____
Associated Press Writer María Verza from Mexico City contributed to this report.
