In addition, two related defendants were identified and arrested after the indictment, the district attorney's office said. Sinaloa Cartel. A money transfer station at the grocery store was used to send some of the proceeds back to Mexico. On Aug. 25, an undercover agent called Jorge Escamilla and had a conversation about "hides and traps in vehicles" before, the indictment says, the conversation turned to Rivera-Beltran. Two days later, the indictment says, Tarango-Rodriguez called Rivera-Beltran, and investigators said it was clear that Rivera-Beltran was nervous about going to a party after the search warrant was executed. "In recent years, the Gulf cartel has weakened due to the arrest of key leaders in Mexico and intra-cartel conflict, which has led to a decline in its drug trafficking influence in the United States.". Investigators believed the group was connected to a Mexican cartel, a criminal complaint said. Boogie! It has popped around the world, from Hong Kong to Australia and Argentina to Europe. On Sept. 29, the indictment says Rivera Beltran called Antonio Ortiz and they spoke how they didn't have anyone bringing heroin to Colorado, and said that Alberto "Chemo" Sanchez Rodriguez could even though he usually only transported money. During a two-year investigation spanning several states, federal agents and the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Joint Task Force recovered more than 123 pounds of methamphetamine, 500 oxycodone. "Any way you plan it out, there's going to be a large amount of cash around," he said. These cartels primarily employ Mexican nationals to oversee their distribution operations in the United States. On. The queens of the Mexican drug cartels are fond of tight jeans, red lipstick and stilettos. In tourist destinations such as Puerto Vallarta, CJNG has become heavily engaged in timeshare fraud, which often targets U.S. citizens. However, no firearms were recovered from their pickup truck. CJNG continues to be the Mexican TCO with second-most widespread national influence. The Sinaloa Cartel had its origin in 1989, after Miguel ngel Flix Gallardo, the main leader of the Guadalajara Cartel, was captured and transferred to a maximum security prison and could not continue with the control of his organization, causing a division that would give life to two new cartels, among them the one in Sinaloa. DENVER Authorities on Wednesday announced the indictments of 30 people who are accused of being members of a Denver-based drug trafficking group with suspected ties to a Mexican cartel, according to officials and court documents. Example video title will go here for this video. According to the DEA, these six Mexican drug cartels generate tens of billions of dollars every year and employ a multitude of financial transactions and arrangements to launder and smuggle their earnings into Mexico. 'The Sinaloa and Juarez cartels are active from the Starbucks locales there in Boulder!' Synthetic drugs such as meth and fentanyl have fundamentally changed the illicit drug market. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. They set up a perimeter around the area and insisted those inside turn themselves in. Federal agents seized a slew of drugs in the case, including about 400 pounds of methamphetamine and 15,000 fentanyl pills a powerful synthetic opioid that were disguised as prescription oxycodone, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Denver. The 18th Judicial District Attorney's Office said the following defendants will be prosecuted in Douglas County: RELATED: 2 Colorado nurses illegally took controlled substances at work, U.S. Attorney's Office says. On Aug. 2, the indictment says, Zytacua called Amanda Bidgood and negotiated the sale of two grams of meth for $100 to Bidgood. (File, courtesy of KKTV). @ 4:00 PMThe article is about cartel presence in Colorado among other things. The organization's purpose was distributing large amounts of drugs including fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine and cocaine throughout the Denver metro area as well as Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties, the indictment says. In April, the indictment says, a confidential informant recorded several phone calls with Padilla-Romo negotiating a $1,600 price for a half-pound of methamphetamine. In 2017, 16-year-old Nathaniel Czajkowski was shot to death in Albertacos while eating with three friends, two of whom also were shot. The organization also predicted that drug trafficking revenueswould fall 20 to 30 percent, and the Sinaloa cartel, which would be the most affected, would lose up to 50 percent. The Defendants from El Salvador are Lara Zamora-Cruz, age unknown; Claudia Lisseth-Lara, 41, (naturalized); Vilma L. Zamora, 67; and Jose Chica-Orellana, age unknown. Taking over a trade once ruled by drug cartels and turning it into an all-cash business could make pot shops prime targets for extortion, black-market competition and robbery. Their families would laugh and say keep them. He was shot 12 times and died, Luis Martnez survived after he was shot twice by the Mexican military following a high-speed chase in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, across from Texas. We are pleased to provide the experience and expertise of Victor Manual Galarza Abizaid, considered a subject matter expert by the 22nd and 13th Judicial Districts in the State of Colorado in criminal interdiction, narcotics, narcotics investigations and the Mexican Cartels.Victor has been in active service as a Law Enforcement officer since 2011. Investigators discovered through calls that Escamilla was picking up a truck from a rental car agency on Sep. 27 and set up surveillance at the location, according to the indictment. On Sept. 20, the indictment says, Rivera-Beltran called Escamilla, who said he had about $170,000, and told Escamilla to bring $120,000 and leave $50,000. A Colorado Springs food distribution company and at least six local Mexican restaurants are linked to the Sinoloa Cartel and drug lordsJoaqun El Chapo Guzmn-Lorea and Ismael El Mayo Zambada-Garcia, says a recently released federal complaint providing the first evidence of cartels operating in Colorado Springs. The Sinaloa Cartel, a Mexican drug gang with one of the largest U.S. footprints - including just about everything east of the Mississippi -- of all the cartels. That would be one way to break up with someone you don't like, huh? "There has also been evidence of the utilization of cryptocurrencies by Mexican TCOs as a means by which to transfer their wealth internationally" said the DEA. (YouTube) Mexican authorities believe a body found wrapped in plastic and left . On July 20, the indictment says, Tarango-Rodriguez began discussing a drug deal with Martin Ivan Trevizo, and decided on a carport at 6600 Kearney Street as a meeting location. The Treasury sanctioned eight Mexican companies accused of being involved in a timeshare fraud scheme controlled by one of Mexico's most infamous drug cartels. The owner of the Colorado Springs dispensary told the Denver Post he is planning to get a concealed-weapons permit, for protection when he has to move money out of the store. The state of Colorado was the first to officially legalize marijuana and to offer recreational marijuana in 2014. . Inside the vehicle, the indictment says, investigators found 5,636.88 grams of cocaine also packaged as bricks with the word "CHANEL" stamped on them. On Sept. 19, Rivera-Beltran called Beltran-Beltran and spoke about "chocolate" (believed to be heroin), "paint" (believed to be liquid meth), and prices of meth. After a K9 alerted the presence of narcotics in the trunk, the indictment says, authorities discovered a $5,000 stack from her purse, and she gave them Ortiz's phone number, which stopped working shortly after. The . Sinaloa Cartel is one of the oldest and most successful drug cartels in Mexico. It's important to note that the Sinaloa cartel doesn't function quite like a traditional, hierarchical cartel. A 50-page version sanitized of confidential information was filed publicly Feb. 22. A cellphone of Jose Aguilar-Martinez, who purported to own the unregistered wholesale distributor El Potosino Foods, had significant contact with suspected cocaine distributors in the city and in Pueblo and was linked to Guzmns and Zambadas trafficking, the complaint says. Chinese nationals aren't allowed to transfer their wealth outside of China, so they are willing to pay Mexican drug cartels a premium for the cartels' US dollar cash holdings in exchange for RMB payments in China. In one conversation, the indictment says the two spoke about the price of ounces, pounds and "balls," which investigators identified as "eight balls" of meth. Click to see the list of top 5 cities that are crowded by Mexican drug cartels. There were 234,062 undocumented immigrants apprehended at the Texas-Mexico Border in 2015, a drop from the previous year which saw 315,803 people seized, according to the presentation. These interactions help Mexican organizations expand their influence, the DEA reports, and "insulates Mexican TCOs from direct ties to street-level drug seizures and arrests made by US law enforcement.". BLO activities remain more dispersed throughout the United States, with heavier concentrations in areas with large heroin markets," said the DEA. According to the DEA, Mexican drug cartels continue to expand their presence and forge partnerships with other transnational gangs, U.S. street gangs, prison gangs, and Chinese money laundering organizations. Our children stronger than we give them credit. "Consistent with previous years, the Sinaloa Cartel maintains the widest national influence, with its most dominant positions along the West Coast, in the Midwest, and in the Northeast. Too funny for words! The indictment contains 45 counts, including an asset forfeiture allegation against the stash houses that were used to hide the drugs. True, its a little weak but I'm grateful to the volunteers at BB.As far as the pentagon spending goes you're preaching to the choir. Joaquin Guzman-Loera (AKA's Chapo, Chapo Guzman, El Rapido) is a Mexican National. > Top stories from 9NEWS curated daily just for you! Agents saw Escamilla arrive at the rental car agency, and tracked him back to his home where he loaded the rental truck with several backpacks and a tan bag, the indictment says. The notoriously violent Jalisco cartel has responded to Mexico's "hugs, not bullets" policy with a policy of their own: the cartel kidnapped in mid-May 2021, several members of an elite police force in the state of Guanajuato, tortured them to obtain names and addresses . Legal Statement. He reportedly operated under the aliases of 'El Gus' and 'El Baby Syko.'. You can get killed for just walking around the east side. On Aug. 29, a confidential informant received a call from Rivera-Beltran, and, the indictment says, they discussed meth. On Aug. 17, agents intercepted a call between Rivera-Beltran and Miguel Diarte, and the indictment says they learned Diarte was transporting a large load of narcotics from Los Angeles to Aurora. She joined the Gazette in 2016. The Marijuana Enforcement Division of the Colorado Department of Revenue, the primary enforcement office responsible for overseeing the production and sale of the retail marijuana, did not return repeated attempts by Fox News.com for comment. When will the Beast from the East be at YOUR door? They Bombs Away, Mexico, Yemen, and Somalia! Scott Simon talks with Vice News Correspondent Emily Green about the increased role of Mexican drug cartels in the avocado and lime business. "In the past 31 days of 2023, there have been 1,937 Mexican Cartel drone's incursions in three South Texas border counties," according to a preview of Martinez's remarks as a witness in the House . Its owner, Hilario Montejano-Aleman, also operates the local Viva El Taco at 5945 N. Academy Blvd. Jeff Dorschner, Spokesman for the Colorado U.S. Attorneys Office, told Breitbart Texas, During the course of this investigation law enforcement determined that a Mexican Cartel was involved. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Of the 17 defendants, 11 are from Mexico, four from El Salvador, and two are from California. We are committed to dismantling and removing the threat posed by these criminal organizations flooding American communities with dangerous narcotics, said Attorney General Jeff Sessions.