Powerful Cartel in Mexico Sought to Buy Weapons Overseas in Exchange for Fentanyl and Meth, U.S. Says
Prosecutors say the men tried to trade fentanyl and methamphetamine for machine guns and grenade launchers, and all four face possible life sentences.
- On Tuesday, U.S. Attorney Greg Kehoe announced federal indictments against four members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel in Tampa, Florida, for allegedly conspiring to traffic drugs and military weapons.
- Indictments allege the group exchanged fentanyl and methamphetamine imported into the United States for European machine guns and grenade launchers intended for use against rivals, police, and military personnel in Mexico.
- Edgar Alejandro Lopez Velasco and Jose Miguel Alvarado Morales appeared in Tampa court Monday following extradition, while Noe Diaz Jimenez and 63-year-old Leobardo Gaxiola Lopez, known as "Bado," await extradition from the Czech Republic.
- Drug Enforcement Administration administrator Terry Cole called CJNG a "designated foreign terrorist organization" that is "killing a record number of Americans," while Kehoe warned international traffickers will be prosecuted wherever they operate.
- Federal authorities continue investigating the organization, seeking forfeiture of all proceeds connected to the alleged crimes while the case against the cartel members remains active and ongoing.
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Powerful cartel in Mexico sought to buy weapons overseas in exchange for fentanyl and meth, U.S. says
"In exchange for the weapons, the defendants paid in the form of fentanyl and methamphetamine imported into the United States for distribution," the Justice Department said.
Washington. The U.S. Department of Justice announced yesterday the formal indictment and arrest of four Mexicans, members of the Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) cartel, who tried to buy heavy weaponry and ammunition in the Czech Republic.
The US Department of Justice on Tuesday unsealed charges against four members of one of Mexico's most powerful drug cartels, who it said sought to acquire weapons and ammunition in the Czech Republic.
Edgar López and José Miguel Alvarado, two of those arrested, are marked for their closeness with high ranks of the criminal group and for paying for the import of artillery with fentanyl and methamphetamines for distribution in the United States.
US authorities on Tuesday charged four members of one of Mexico's most powerful drug cartels, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), with attempting to purchase weapons and ammunition in the Czech Republic. All men were arrested in the Czech Republic in June. Two men have been extradited, and the extradition of two others is under consideration. All four face life sentences, according to the US Department of Justice.
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