Narco World > Designer drugs need to be banned - NL Police; German drug gangs hire Dutch gangs for gang war; Rotterdam's drug movements were down from previous year; B.C. class-action against opioid makers certified

 

Dutch police call for urgent designer drug ban

amid rising trade

Dutch police are calling on the Eerste Kamer to swiftly pass a bill that would enforce a sweeping ban on New Psychoactive Substances (NPS), commonly referred to as designer drugs. The bill, already passed by the Tweede Kamer, would change the current approach of dealing with these substances, which are often chemically modified versions of illegal drugs.

“A comprehensive law is vital for effectively curbing the trade in these substances,” said Willem Woelders, the police’s drug portfolio holder. The legislation, which could reshape the fight against synthetic drugs in the Netherlands, is up for discussion on Tuesday, January 21.

Currently, individual substances must undergo rigorous testing to determine whether they should be added to the Opium Act, a process that can take years. Meanwhile, manufacturers stay one step ahead, tweaking the chemical formulas of banned substances to create new variations.

“They swap out one or two atoms in the molecule, and suddenly it’s a new substance that isn’t controlled under the law,” said Peter Jansen, a police expert on drugs. “The effects stay the same, but the product is renamed and continues to be sold legally. Take 4-MMC, for example. When it was banned, 3-MMC appeared, and then 2-MMC followed. It’s a constant battle to keep up.”

The proposed legislation would create a new addition to the Opium Act, List IA, allowing entire chemical families to be banned. The list would target synthetic cannabinoids, fentanyls, and phenethylamines (including cathinones), which replicate the effects of THC (cannabis), heroin, and MDMA, respectively. This change would prevent drug manufacturers from simply altering the chemical structure of these substances to bypass the law.

Police warn that the continued presence of designer drugs is a growing danger to public health and safety. The risks of these substances are often unknown, and the consequences can be deadly.

“These drugs haven’t been adequately studied, and users, especially younger ones, often don’t know what they’re ingesting,” Jansen explained. “Because these substances are still legal, users mistakenly believe they’re safe. They’re easy to buy online, and delivery is just a click away. But a small dose can be deadly. Overdoses are already becoming more common.”

The problem goes beyond individual harm; the illegal production and distribution of designer drugs are often linked to organized crime. “The trade in these substances is tied to threats, violence, and significant safety risks like explosions in unregulated drug labs,” Woelders said. “This isn’t just a problem for the users but for the communities living near these labs.”

“We often can’t assist with international legal requests because these substances aren’t illegal here,” Woelders added. “Sometimes we even have to return seized materials to the producers. Other countries look at our system in disbelief. We’ve become an NPS hotspot for Europe and beyond, and that’s damaging to our reputation.”

“A blanket ban allows us to target many dangerous substances at once, even those that haven’t yet emerged,” Woelders said. “It would put an end to the slow process of evaluating each individual drug and make it easier to shut down illegal labs. That’s essential for protecting our communities.”

The bill has already won support from experts in other European countries who have adopted similar measures. In Germany and Belgium, entire chemical groups have been banned for years, helping authorities keep pace with rapidly changing drug markets.

Dutch law enforcement is already gearing up for the potential enactment of the law. Police are preparing training programs and guidelines for officers on how to handle suspected designer drugs and labs.

“We’re creating e-learning tools and developing clear protocols for our officers,” Jansen said. “Once the law passes, they’ll know exactly what to do when they encounter suspicious substances.”

“It’s time for the Eerste Kamer to act,” Woelders concluded. “This is our chance to close the loopholes that criminals have exploited for years. By adapting the Opium Act, we can combat an industry that harms public health and undermines the safety of our society.”

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Dutch criminals hired for violent attacks in

German drugs gang war; 23 arrested

Dutch criminals were hired to carry out a series of violent attacks in Germany, including kidnappings and the use of explosives, amid an escalating feud among gangs involved in drug trafficking, Europol announced on Thursday. A total of 23 people were arrested in a joint police operation by authorities in the Netherlands and Germany.

The dispute originated in Cologne, Germany, where a disagreement led one party to hire Dutch criminals to conduct retaliatory attacks on German soil, Europol alleged. Police in both countries monitored the situation before conducting a coordinated “action day” in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

This resulted in three arrests and raids on eight homes. Prior to this, 20 suspects had already been taken into custody, and several other searches were carried out as part of the ongoing investigation.

Authorities seized several items, including a converted firearm, explosives, 20,000 euros in cash, illicit substances, and mobile phones. The suspects are accused of kidnapping, assault, and drug trafficking.

Europol stated that the criminals used minors to perform some of the attacks. They added that this highlights “the unsettling and increasing trend of crime-as-a-service involving a younger age group.”

A Europol expert was deployed to the mobile center in Amsterdam on the day of the operation to perform cross-checks.

The criminals' choice to use explosives “highlights the criminals’ disregard for potential collateral damage and injury,” Europol’s statement read. 

Significant decrease in intercepted drug shipments at the 

Port of Rotterdam in 2024

Just under 26,000 kilos of drugs were intercepted in the Port of Rotterdam last year. This is a significant decrease compared to 2023 when over 45,000 kilos were discovered. The figures were reported by the Hit And Run Cargo team (HARC), which is a partnership between customs, the Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), the seaport police, and the Public Prosecution Service (OM).

The number of people arrested also decreased significantly. Around 452 people were arrested in 2023, while the number of arrests totaled 266 last year. Most of the people arrested were between 18 and 22 years old. The youngest was 14 years old, and the oldest was 63 years of age. There were 59 underage people among the arrests.

The explanation for the decrease is sharpened security measures, said the chief prosecutor of Zeeland-West-Brabant, Mariëtte Bode. An example of this is the usage of drones by customs. Another factor is that fewer people are needed for smaller drug shipments.

Over 12,5 kilos of drugs were intercepted in the port of Vlissingen, which is an increase of 1,300 kilos compared to 2023. The HARC has not seen any evidence to suggest that there is a connection between the decrease in Rotterdam and the slight increase in the Zeeland-West Brabant region.

In total, 38,000 kilos of drugs were intercepted in the Netherlands in 2024. This too, is a significant decrease compared to 2023 when almost 60,000 kilos were discovered.

There was also a significant decrease in intercepted drugs in Antwerp last year. Customs think that a portion of the drug trade in the Benelux has moved to France and Spain. The number of drugs that were discovered in France last year doubled compared to 2023. A shipment of 13,000 kilos of cocaine was intercepted in Spain.

The total value of the intercepted drug shipments was 917 million euros. The drugs were hidden in 189 shipments in Rotterdam and 11 in Vlissingen. A total of 80 criminal investigations were started as a result of the cases in Rotterdam. Vlissingen saw 25 investigations started as a result of their findings.

HARC has said that it is “remarkable” that the size of the shipments has decreased. Around 115 shipments of less than 100 kilos were found in 2024, compared to 81 the year before. “Criminals may be doing more to spread the risk."

Despite this, some large packages were seized. A shipment of over 3,600 kilos was intercepted in Rotterdam and Vlissingen. The largest shipment seized in the port of Moerdijk was almost 3,100 kilos. The number of large shipments, of a thousand kilos or more, dropped from 13 in 2023 to eight in 2024. 

Class-action lawsuit targeting opioid manufacturers certified by B.C. Supreme Court

B.C.’s attorney general says the B.C. Supreme Court has certified the province’s class-action lawsuit against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

Niki Sharma says B.C. can now proceed as a representative plaintiff on behalf of other Canadian governments with the litigation aimed at recovering the costs of treating opioid-related diseases allegedly caused by the industry’s conduct.

5:09

B.C. government steps up legal action against opioid drug makers

She says in a statement the top court decision reaffirms B.C.’s commitment to holding pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in the opioid crisis, which was declared a public health emergency in the province in April 2016.

Last November, the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed the constitutionality of a law allowing B.C. to pursue a class-action lawsuit on behalf of other Canadian governments.

That’s after several opioid companies argued in B.C. Supreme Court that the province was overstepping its authority under the constitution.

But a majority of the top court found that B.C.’s law respects the legislative authority of other Canadian governments, which can choose to opt out of the proceeding, and the decision noted that nearly every province and territory as well as the federal government intended to take part in the class-action.

1:38

B.C. government goes to court to expand opioid lawsuit

Sharma says the class-action’s certification marks a “significant milestone” in the proceedings that date back to 2018, when the province first launched the lawsuit.

“Our goal was clear: to recover the health-care costs of treating opioid-related harms and to hold manufacturers and distributors accountable for their role in allegedly using deceptive marketing practices to drive sales, contributing to addiction and overdose rates in the country,” she says.

The most recent data from the B.C. Coroners Service released in December says in the first 10 months of last year there were 1,925 overdose deaths, marking a nine per cent decrease from the same time period in 2023.

Canadian government statistics say there were more than 49,000 opioid toxicity deaths reported between January 2016 and June 2024 across the country.

Corruption is Everywhere > Ecuador's collapse into a Narco State - can it be halted, or is it too late?

 

We've been documenting the astonishingly rapid descent of Ecuador into a narco state for the past few months. Where is Rodrigo Dutarte when you need him?

Ecuadorans to vote in anti-crime referendum

as another Mayor murdered

Millions of Ecuadorans will cast ballots in a referendum on Sunday to decide whether or not to green-light stricter measures against organised crime in a country gripped by bloody gang wars.

Issued on: 20/04/2024 - 14:41

2 min

By:FRANCE 24Follow|FRANCE 24

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Video by:FRANCE 24Follow|FRANCE 24

Once a bastion of peace situated between major cocaine producers, the South American country has been plunged into crisis after years of expansion by the transnational cartels that use its ports to ship the drug to the United States and Europe.

The mayor of a mining town in violence-riddled Ecuador was shot dead Friday in the second such killing in recent days ahead of Sunday's referendum, when voters will be asked to approve tougher measures against organised crime, said police.

Jorge Maldonado, the mayor of Portovelo, “fell victim to gunshots that resulted in his death”, police said on X.

He was gunned down by two attackers on a motorcycle.

Images seen by AFP showed the slain mayor lying on a sidewalk with a pool of blood around his head.

The bloodshed came in the midst of an energy debacle due to a severe drought, which has emptied reservoirs to alarming levels and left the nation grappling with blackouts of up to 13 hours.

President Daniel Noboa on Friday decreed a state of emergency to avoid “terrorist attacks” to the supply of electricity across the country.

Noboa had said that “sabotage” had caused power cuts, without identifying whom he believes was responsible.

Smoke and mirrors, I suspect.

Maldonado was the fifth Ecuadoran mayor assassinated in a year, and the third in less than a month.

Two days before his killing, the mayor of Camilo Ponce Enriquez in the southern province of Azuay, Jose Sanchez, was shot dead.

And last month, Brigitte Garcia, the 27-year-old mayor of coastal San Vicente, was found dead in a car along with the municipality’s communications director, Jairo Loor. Both had suffered gunshot wounds.

The AME municipalities’ association said in a statement the killings were “indicative of a serious security crisis” and demanded “immediate and decisive action” to guarantee the safety of the country’s more than 200 other mayors.

‘Internal armed conflict’

Prosecutors, journalists and police have been among the victims of organised criminals with links to Mexican and Colombian cartels.

In January, Noboa declared a state of “internal armed conflict” against about 20 criminal groups.

That came after a spasm of violence sparked by the prison escape of a major drug lord, who has yet to be recaptured.

Since then, the military has been deployed in the streets and taken control of the country’s prisons, where a string of gang riots in recent years has left some 460 people dead.

Since January last year, at least a dozen politicians have been killed in Ecuador, including presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was gunned down last August after leaving a campaign event.

Some 13.6 million of Ecuador’s 17.7 million people are eligible to vote in Sunday’s referendum.

They will be asked to give the go-ahead for measures such as allowing the deployment of soldiers to back up police outside of a state of emergency, boosting gun control and increasing sentences for terrorism and drug trafficking

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Mexico's War with Drug Cartels; Are They Winning or Losing?

7 Mexican Leaders with Ties to Drug Cartels

Enrique Pena Nieto (Juan Mabromata / AFP / Getty)Juan Mabromata / AFP / Getty

by ILDEFONSO ORTIZ AND BRANDON DARBY 

Many of Mexico’s top leaders are linked to the brutal drug cartels overrunning their country. As Mexico slips further into a failed narco-state, top politicians’ links with drug cartels possibly help explain why.

1. Enrique Peña Nieto

Despite his many campaign promises, the current Mexican president has been unable to put a halt to the raging cartel violence taking place in his country; or has he been unwilling?

As a candidate and during his term in office, Peña Nieto has openly supported many of the cartel linked politicians who are now in trouble with the law. As Breitbart Texas reported, operators from the Juarez Cartel allegedly funneled illicit funds into Peña Nieto’s 2012 presidential bid. The funds were used to buy cash cards that were then given to citizens in exchange for their votes. The scandal became known as Monexgate and was originally discovered by famed Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui.

2. Tomas Yarrington

The former governor of Tamaulipas is wanted by the U.S. Department of Justice on multiple drug trafficking and money laundering charges. As Breitbart Texas reported, he allowed the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas to operate in his state in exchange for cartel bribes. After his term as governor, Yarrington worked with Los Zetas and the Beltran Leyva Cartel to move drugs through Veracruz. He was recently arrested in Italy and is awaiting extradition to the U.S. to stand trial.

3. Eugenio Hernandez

A second governor of Tamaulipas is wanted by the U.S. Department of Justice on multiple money laundering and bank fraud charges. As Breitbart Texas reported, Hernandez is believed to have continued Yarrington’s scheme of receiving cartel bribes as well as expanding a network used to embezzle government funds from contracts with ghost companies. While Hernandez is a wanted fugitive in the U.S., in Mexico he has a clean record and is not sought by that country’s law enforcement agencies. As Breitbart Texas first reported in a story that then Wall Street Journal tried to take credit for, the Mexican government had been providing both Hernandez and Yarrington with police officers as their personal bodyguards. Hernandez continues to live in Mexico.

4. Javier Duarte

The former governor of Veracruz has been charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, embezzlement and other charges by Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office; he is not wanted by U.S. authorities. As reported by Breitbart Texas, Duarte was recently arrested in Guatemala and is fighting Mexico’s extradition efforts. Duarte is accused of embezzling massive amounts of money from the state’s coffers. The former governor has also been singled out by news organizations for the impunity with which journalists were killed in his state.

5. Cesar Duarte Jaquez

The former governor of Chihuahua is currently a wanted fugitive in his own country on warrants accusing him of embezzlement. As Breitbart Texas reported, the current governor or Chihuahua has stated that Duarte crossed into Texas to hide from prosecution. A series of investigations by the late journalist Miroslava Breach uncovered the ties between Duarte’s party the Institutional Revolutionary Party and Mexican drug cartels. Breach was killed after reporting that the PRI was trying to have the mother in law of a top Juarez Cartel boss run for mayor, Breitbart Texas reported. 

6. Humberto Moreira

The former governor of the border state of Coahuila Humberto Moreira, has been singled out as having protected Los Zetas by former Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Breitbart Texas reported.

The former governor is trying to run for Mexico’s congress under the Partido Joven (Young Party) where he has labeled himself as El Valiente or the Brave one. Moreira and various state officials have been fingered in U.S. court testimony and documents as having protected the key leaders of the Los Zetas cartel in exchange for bribes.

Moreira was arrested in Spain in early 2016 on money laundering charges. During the various hearing tied to the case, Spanish prosecutors stated that Moreira had been a surrogate for the Los Zetas cartel; the information for the statements was based on an ongoing investigation by U.S. federal agencies. Moreira had been the PRI party leader during Peña Nieto’s 2012 presidential bid. as Breitbart Texas reported, the Mexican government applied political pressure in order to get his release; eventually, Spain released Moreira claiming he was clear of the charges in that country.

7. Jesus Reyna

The interim governor of Michoacan remains jailed on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity.  The case against Reyna began in 2014 when a leaked video revealed a series of interactions between the politician and Servando “La Tuta” Gomez, the former leader of the Knights Templar – Familia Michoacana Cartel. Reyna served as interim governor of Michoacan for six months and had a long history of having served as state party chair for the PRI.

Nevertheless, Cartel heads are rolling as government appears to be cracking down

'El Chito,' leader of Mexican drug cartel, arrested in Juarez

April 28 (UPI) -- The Mexican government arrested the leader of the La Linea drug cartel and recovered a stash of narcotics after a raid in the border city of Juarez, authorities said.

Miguel Angel Amaya Loya, known by the street name "El Chito," was arrested along with a top lieutenant, the Mexican government said. Federal agents raided two homes in the city. They also recovered a package of cocaine and a 4 pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside a bathroom wall in one of the homes, according to a statement by the federal government. A cache of weapons was also recovered.

Top drug cartel leaders killed in Mexico near US border

Two leaders of rival drug cartels have been killed in clashes with federal forces, officials said. Their deaths have caused unrest in a Mexican border town, with cartel supporters blocking roads and torching businesses.

Mexican authorities on Saturday announced that two top drug traffickers had been killed in a shootout with federal forces in the northern border state of Tamaulipas.

"Two key targets were shot down [in separate instances] last night in Reynosa and the state capital. The government of Tamaulipas and federal forces will not relent against crime," the local government said in a tweet.

The deaths of the drug traffickers caused unrest in the border town of Reynosa. Supporters of the suspects' drug cartels blocked off several roads in the Mexican town, engaging in firefights with police and setting fire to local businesses, authorities said.

Julian Loisa Salinas, who went by the name "Comandante Toro" as leader of the Gulf cartel, was shot dead in Reynosa, while rival leader Francisco "Pancho" Carreon of the Zetas cartel was killed in the Tamaulipas state capital of Ciudad Victoria, according to authorities. 

'Sophisticated drug networks'

Mexico's bloody drug war has spanned a decade, with estimates placing the death toll of cartel-related violence at approximately 120,000 from 2006 to 2012, not including disappearances.

"Weak judicial and police institutions, as well as proximity to the world's largest consumer economy, have made Mexico the hub of one of the world's most sophisticated drug networks," said the US-based think-tank Council on Foreign Relations in a report.

Despite deteriorating diplomatic relations, US President Donald trump has vowed to assist Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's administration in tackling drug cartels and curbing the flow of narcotics into the US.

Killings in Mexico near record levels as drug cartel violence spreads 

Violence in Mexico is up near record levels after 35 people were killed this weekend, as officials point to a worsening of gang and cartel violence across the country.

The month of March saw over 2,000 homicides, the highest body count since 2011 when Mexico was coping with massive cartel violence. Now, unlike previous spikes in bloodshed, the killings are not confined to any one particular area or state. Instead, bodies are turning up across Mexico.

5 Mexican Cartel Bosses Who Were Caught Hiding in Texas

Breitbart Texas / Cartel Chronicles

by ILDEFONSO ORTIZ AND BRANDON DARBY

Mexican cartel bosses have a history of seeking a safe haven in the United States in an apparent effort to avoid dying at the hands of their rivals or having to shoot it out with Mexican military forces. U.S. law enforcement officers arrested several key cartel bosses after they sought refuge in Texas.

It is not clear how many Mexican cartel bosses have in fact crossed or continue to cross into the U.S. and avoid being captured. Authorities arrested the following five cartel leaders in South Texas:

1– Rafael Cardenas Vela AKA El Junior

One of the top leaders in the Gulf Cartel, and nephew of Los Zetas founder Osiel Cardenas Guillen. As Breitbart Texas reported, Cardenas Vela was known as a fierce warlord who commanded crews of cartel hitmen that rode in armored trucks and had access to rocket launchers, automatic weapons, and explosives. Fearing a certain death at the hands of his rivals, Cardenas ultimately fled to the United States in May 2011. He maintained control of the Matamoros Plaza from a series of security houses in the Texas border cities of Rio Hondo and Brownsville through the use of daily e-mails to key leadership within the Cartel. 

Federal agents arrested El Junior in October 2011 him along with two of his key bodyguards as he was making his way to South Padre Island from Port Isabel, Texas, where he had a luxury condominium. According to federal prosecutors, Cardenas Vela had approximately 500 gunmen men in Mexico ready to respond to his call.

2– Luis Alberto Blanco Flores AKA Pelochas or M-28

The current leader of the Gulf Cartel in the border city of Rio Bravo fled to the U.S. in 2010 along with fellow Gulf Cartel members Oscar “El Apache” Castillo Flores and others to escape certain death at the hands of their rivals. At the time, the Gulf Cartel underwent a series of internal conflicts that led to the murder of key leaders. Blanco Flores worked for Castillo Flores and both men fled to Brownsville where eventually federal authorities arrested them, Breitbart Texas previously reported. Both cartel leaders were only charged with illegal re-entry and released after serving two years in prison.

Castillo Flores was gunned down in a firefight in 2012, while Blanco Flores kept climbing the ladder within the leadership of the Gulf Cartel.  During his illegal re-entry trial, Blanco Flores was seen loudly sobbing in court when he saw his mother sitting in the federal courtroom in Brownsville.

3– Juan Saenz-Tamez AKA Panochitas

The former leader of the Gulf Cartel was arrested in October 2014 in the border city of Edinburg. In a story first reported by Breitbart Texas, Juan “El Panochitas” Saenz-Tamez was arrested by federal authorities after the cartel leader had been hiding in Texas in an apparent effort to avoid the ongoing rivalry between cartel forces and a possible capture by Mexican authorities. Tamez’s charges came from a federal indictment from Beaumont, Texas, where he eventually pleaded guilty to multiple drug conspiracy charges.

4– Jose Luis Zuniga AKA El Wicho

A former key leader and regional boss for the Gulf Cartel, El Wicho was arrested by federal authorities in Santa Maria, Texas in 2011. At the time of his arrest, Zuñiga had a .38 caliber jeweled handgun valued at close to $50,000. 

As Breitbart Texas reported, El Wicho had a strike team of 60 SUVs with as many as 240 gunmen ready to answer to his call.

5– Juan Roberto Rincon-Rincon

One of the key commanders of the Gulf Cartel, he was arrested in Texas in October 2011 when he fled to rural Cameron County. According to the FBI, Rincon and his key security detail fled to the United States rather than face a likely death at the hands of their rivals.

According to testimony from his trial, Rincon and the Gulf Cartel were able to remain in control of northern Mexico by bribing Mexican law enforcement, some elements of the Mexican military, the news media, and elected public officials. In addition to unlimited funds, Rincon also had Rincon-Rincon also had at least 100 individuals at his disposal armed with semi-automatic rifles, body armor, grenades, and .50 Caliber automatic rifles, and some had rocket launchers. The Gulf Cartel commander is serving a life sentence in federal prison.

17 Alleged Mexican Cartel Operatives Charged in Colorado

Breitbart Texas / Cartel Chronicles

by RYAN SAAVEDRA 

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging 17 defendants for drug trafficking in direct connection with a Mexican drug cartel.

The arrests and indictments of the 17 defendants were the result of a year-long investigation into a Mexican drug cartel operation that smuggled narcotics into the United States from California to Colorado, according to a statement from the Department of Justice.

Jeff Dorschner, Spokesman for the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s Office, told Breitbart Texas, “During the course of this investigation law enforcement determined that a Mexican Cartel was involved. The identity of that cartel is not being released as it remains the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation.”

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Sinaloa Mexican Drug Cartel is known to be the dominant drug cartel in both California and Colorado.

Of the 17 defendants, 11 are from Mexico, four from El Salvador, and two are from California. Seven of the defendants are considered fugitives.

The defendants are alleged to have brought large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine into the United States through California using secret compartments in vehicles. The drugs were kept in stash houses in Aurora, Colorado, before being distributed at a local grocery store.

A money transfer station at the grocery store was used to send some of the proceeds back to Mexico. The rest of the funds were smuggled back in secret vehicle compartments.

“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. 

“This organization is alleged to have moved large amounts of meth and cocaine from Mexico to Colorado, with devastating impact on communities in their wake. I want to congratulate the outstanding federal, state, and local law enforcement cooperation that resulted in this highly successful operation. Replicating this kind of aggressive law enforcement take down is critical to breaking the backs of these criminal organizations.”

The Defendants from Mexico are: Jose Tapia-Rubio, 58, (naturalized); Selestino Hernandez-Mayo, 45; Fredy Paz-Herrera, age unknown; “Bancholas”, age unknown, (thought to be from Mexico); Rodrigo Mora-Sanchez, 49, (naturalized); Oscar Mora-Campos, age unknown; Eduardo Jimenez-Sanchez, 37; “Changuito”, age unknown, (thought to be from Mexico); “Um-9584”, age unknown, (thought to be from Mexico); Leopoldo Rodriguez-Padilla, Age Unknown; And Heberto Mora-Sanchez, 43.

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.

The Defendants from California are Juan Carlos Medina-Soberanis, 31; and Erik Parra.

The indictment contains 45 counts, including an asset forfeiture allegation against the stash houses that were used to hide the drugs.

High-ranking Mexican police official accused of involvement with drug cartel

According to Yahoo news, in a major embarrassment for Mexican law enforcement, U.S. prosecutors said in documents made public Wednesday that the commander of a Mexican police intelligence-sharing unit was passing information on a DEA investigation to the Beltran Leyva drug cartel in exchange for millions of dollars.

Ivan Reyes Arzate, 45, was named in a U.S. district court indictment, just hours after Mexican federal police commissioner Manelich Castilla revealed that an unnamed agent had been charged with obstructing an investigation.

What Castilla did not say was that Reyes Arzate was the commander of a federal police sensitive investigative unit. The special units, known as SIUs, were formed starting in the 1990s precisely to create more secure groups that the U.S. could feel comfortable sharing intelligence with. Castilla said Reyes Arzate had been fired in November. He is in U.S. custody.

Jalisco drug cartel lieutenant 'El Terrible' arrested in Mexico with a rifle and 117 'wrappings of cocaine'

By Anna Hopkins For Dailymail.com and Associated Press

Federal prosecutors in Mexico say they have apprehended a high-ranking operator of the Jalisco New Generation drug cartel.

Ivan Margarito Esquivel Garcia, also known as 'El Terrible,' was caught in the Pacific coast state of Colima, the prosecutors' office said on Sunday.

Esquivel Garcia, 28, allegedly led the cartel's activities in the state of Colima and portions of the nearby state of Michoacan. 

Garcia was captured with a rifle and 117 'wrappings' of cocaine, El Universal reported.

Esquivel Garcia is wanted for the March 4 murder of Carlos Sierra Santana, a founder and leader of a rival gang, 'The Viagras.'

The Attorney General of Mexico said that the arrest was executed without any shots being fired. 

The Jalisco cartel is considered Mexico's fastest-growing gangs, and one of its most violent.

The group were formerly underlings of 'El Chapo's' notorious gang, the Sinaloa Cartel, Business Insider reported. Despite their humble beginnings, their exceedingly violent tactics have catapulted Jalisco to rival status with Sinaloa.

The group pushed the murder rate in Mexico to historic numbers, with 3,800 killings taking place between July and August of 2016. 

'El Chapo' arrest sparks homicide surge as factions fight to fill vacuum

Alan Gomez , USA TODAY

Last year’s capture of Mexican drug kingpin Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán led to a surge in homicides in Mexico as cartel leaders fought to fill the vacuum created by his arrest.

The apprehension of Guzmán in January 2016 was hailed by Mexican and U.S. officials as a watershed moment in the war on drugs. But Mexico's homicide rate for the year spiked to 21.3 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, a steep rise from 17.5 in 2015 that rivals record numbers earlier in the decade, according to a report released Friday by the Justice in Mexico Project at the University of San Diego.

Mexico had just started emerging from its bloody battle with drug cartels, with murder rates dropping for four consecutive years from 2011 to 2014. After the removal of Guzmán, violence is back on the rise. The drug lord was extradited to the United States in January to face criminal charges for his leadership of the trafficking syndicate known as the Sinaloa Cartel.

"It's kind of two steps forward, one step back," said David Shirk, director of the Justice in Mexico Project and co-author of the report. "We took out a very powerful and important drug trafficker. But as a result, we have destabilized the ecosystem of organized crime in a way that has led to internal struggles within the Sinaloa Cartel, and encroachment from other organizations that would like to take over their business."

The spike in violence also helps explain why the United States is seeing a resurgence in heroin use. The problem has become so widespread that President Trump created a national opioid addiction commission. On Wednesday he hosted a White House "listening session" with addicts, including one recovering heroin addict.

Shirk said the battles between Mexican drug cartels have upset the "traditional" drug routes — including cocaine — that originate in South America and funnel through Mexico to the U.S. That has made it more difficult for American users to find cocaine, opening the door for heroin and other opioids, which can be produced in Mexico and smuggled more easily into the U.S.

Heroin profits are smaller, Shirk said, but they provide those cartels with quick and easy cash as they focus on fighting for control of territories left vacant by Guzmán's arrest.

"When you fragment drug trafficking organizations, they're going to look for readily available products," Shirk said.