Borderland Beat | |
- Los Cuinis-CJNG: Worlds Most Wealthy Drug Trafficking Organization
- 'It's Like a Horror Movie': The Grisly Details Behind Mexico's Narcocorrido Murder Epidemic
- Tijuana: Killing exposes 'narco entrepreneur'
| Los Cuinis-CJNG: Worlds Most Wealthy Drug Trafficking Organization Posted: 13 Apr 2015 06:12 PM PDT Lucio R. Borderland Beat translated and republished from Proceso Note: following the Procesoarticle is the full DEA press releaseabout Los Cuinis and CJNG. According to Proceso, for the US government there is no doubt that Los Cuinis cartel is the Mexican drug trafficking organization with more economic power in the world, even well above the Sinaloa Cartel. "I know it sounds unbelievable, but Los Cuinis are the world's richest drug traffickers," says a senior official of the US Drug Administration (DEA), who requested anonymity to speak about a subject whose investigation is ongoing in Mexico and the United States. "Moreover," he adds, "I can tell you that last February 28 Mexican authorities unwittingly arrested he world's richest narco". Referring to Abigael González Valencia, El Cuini. The trafficker was arrested on February 28 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, by a joint operation of the Navy, Federal Police and the Attorney General's Office. US authorities accept that it is impossible to determine the amount of profits accumulated by Los Cuinis and its leader, but commented that it is in the billions of dollars annually. "Officials" from various branches of the national security of the United States confirm that Los Cuinis far exceeds the Sinaloa Cartel in net profits for the international traffic of narcotics. Los Cuinis, an organization founded by El Cuini, "are the almost absolute master of the European and Asian drug market," according to analysis and intelligence investigations of several US federal agencies, which placed this criminal group as an "associate "of Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), identifying them as one and the same mafia. (Cuinis from the word cuñado, or brother-in-law) "The Cuini and siblings (five) are richer because they are drug dealers who sell more cocaine and methamphetamine in Europe and European authorities have failed to confiscate almost no money or drugs. Meaning, their (bottom line) profits could be close to one hundred percent," says DEA official. Alternative Markets Abigael González Valencia is unique. "He is a shrewd drug dealer. With CJNG (Mencho) he designed a strategy different from traditional drug trafficking, for example the Sinaloa Cartel, "explains one of the officials consulted and who, like his colleague from the DEA and the rest of the interviewed, asked that his identity not be disclosed or the federal agency to which it belongs. "The Cuini targeted partnering with drug traffickers and narco-insurgents of Colombia and other South American countries to sell cocaine and other drugs in Europe, without being sensitive to the market of the United States. That made a big difference in terms of profits earned, "said the official. According to official documents reviewed by Procesofor this report, Los Cuinis and CJNG for almost a decade chose not to mess with the US market. In the midst of the war unleashed drug by Felipe Calderón, El Cuini and his brother-in-law Nemesio Oseguera Cárdenas, "El Mencho," (leader CJNG), allied with South American drug traffickers to get cocaine in bulk for Europe markets, while the Sinaloa cartel, the Juárez and Gulf and Los Zetas, La Familia Michoacana and others fought with blood and fire for routes into the United States. "El Cuini" and "El Mencho", understood that there was much more risk of loss, in every way, if attempting to compete with other cartels for the US market," said another of the officials interviewed. Yet the DEA does not refute its position that the Sinaloa Cartel is the most powerful Mexican criminal organization and feared the planet: The Cuinis are wealthier because they did not compete with El Mayo Zambada or with El Chapo Guzman for the US market and they crossed arms from Europe and Asia. The Cuinis, unlike any other Mexican cartel and according to official US documents about the organization", do not use violence avoiding attention and are almost impenetrable in its command structure" . "It's very difficult to infiltrate an informant in command of Los Cuinis, they are very guarded and extremely careful," accepts the DEA official. Washington describes Los Cuinis and CJNG as two organizations that are a "family empire" and owners of countless businesses created exclusively to launder money. "Its main investments are concentrated in the real estate sector." Other officials interviewed, who has devoted many years of his career to investigate and characterize Los Cuinis and CJNG: "They are the major methamphetamine trafficking organizations in Canada and Europe, the biggest traffickers of chemical precursors Asia and Europe to Mexico and possibly the best positioned for cocaine trafficking worldwide ". The DEA emphasizes that "it's the cartel of Mexico who is better connected abroad" And has an association with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and therefore "is the number one supplier of cocaine to Mexico, from Colombia, Ecuador and Peru". As an example, the DEA reminds the reporter that "a few years ago, the organization led by El Cuini confiscated in Japan the largest amount of methamphetamine ever recorded in Asia: more than 200 kilograms." (441 lbs) Another idiosyncrasy of El Cuini "is that he is very attached to the family," according to the research findings of the US government. The top leadership of Los Cuinis and CJNG is formed by blood. Abigael and five of his brothers command the criminal group; Additionally, El Cuini's sister is the wife of El Mencho. Extraditable Abigael González Valencia was arrested on May 2, 1996 in the San Diego, California. He was charged with six counts related to the manufacture of narcotics (methamphetamine) and conspiracy to distribute them. The court case number 1: 96-cr-05113-AWI-6, dated May 9, 1996 and filed with the Federal Court for the Eastern District of California, indicates that on November 22 of that year, El Cuini was released after posting 80,000 dollar bail. He was ordered to appear in court on April 28, 1997. He skipped bail and fled south of the border. "Once released, El Cuini returned to Mexico," admits the DEA official. Since then he is a fugitive from US justice, therefore, now under the custody of the Mexican government, his extradition would be a mere bureaucratic procedure. Cuini bought the Zeta Horses Among the documents of the US government on El Cuini remarkable a fact. In November 2012 the US government auctioned over 300 horses confiscated from Treviño Morales in Oklahoma; the finest and the most expensive was the quarter mile Dash of Sweet Heat, which sold at $1 million. (at left) "Several of the finest horses they took from Jose Trevino and were auctioned, and were purchased for ElCuini through intermediaries" reveals the DEA official. "Some of these horses are now running in the Santa Anita Racetrack in San Jose, California," the official, who refused to give more details about it because that information is integrated in an ongoing investigation and according to him, will soon come to an end. Blacklisted Along with the Mencho, El Cuini in recent years traveled frequently to Europe, especially to Holland, Spain, Germany, France and Belgium. "In Las Ramblas they own businesses, therefore would visit often." said one of the US officials. None of the interviewees dare to make an estimate of fortune of el Cuini, the siblings or El Mencho. But agree they are considered "the richest of Mexico drug traffickers." On Wednesday 8, the Office for Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the Department of the Treasury of the United States, announced the names organizations of the most significant drug as Los Cuinis and CJNG and the Obama administration subjected them to financial penalties, as set out in the Kingpin Act. El Cuini and El Mencho joined the list of the most significant drug traffickers to the United States, so the Treasury Department ordered the confiscation of their goods and the freezing of bank accounts they had in the United States or in places under the jurisdiction of same. John E. Smith, Acting Director of OFAC, explained that lately in Mexico is a "trend of erosion" between traditional cartels, with the emergence of new organizations such as Los Cuinis and CJNG. "These two organizations have rapidly expanded their criminal empire through the use of violence and corruption. Are now placed among the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in Mexico, "concluded Smith to the media. The calculation of the OFAC is that it was about five years ago when the CJNG from the ashes of what was Milenio Cartel was born. However, officials interviewed by this correspondent, and particularly the DEA rejected that theory and show that Los Cuinis and CJNG, appeared almost immediately after El Cuini returned to Jalisco after fleeing California in 1997. El Mencho was arrested in the US in 1994 and later sentenced to three years in prison. The leader of CJNG was convicted for crimes of conspiracy to distribute heroin. After serving his sentence, El Mencho was released and immediately returned to Mexico to resume its activities in the trafficking of drugs. Already connected in Jalisco, he focused on traffic to the European market under the strategy of his brother-in-law Here is the full DEA press release from last Wednesday, with respect to CJNG and Los Cuinis Action Targets CJNG and Los Cuinis, Drug Trafficking Organizations that Rank Among the Most Powerful Cartels in Mexico WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated two Mexican narcotics trafficking organizations, the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG) and the Los Cuinis Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO), as Specially Designated Narcotics Traffickers pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). OFAC also today designated two Mexican nationals, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes and Abigael Gonzalez Valencia, who are leaders of CJNG and the Los Cuinis DTO, respectively. These drug cartels and their leaders play significant roles in international narcotics trafficking. As a result of today's action, all assets of these entities and individuals that are based in the United States or in the control of U.S. persons are frozen, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. "In recent years, we have seen a rising trend in the erosion of historically powerful cartels alongside the emergence of new drug trafficking organizations like CJNG and its close ally Los Cuinis DTO. These two organizations have rapidly expanded their criminal empire in recent years through the use of violence and corruption. They now rank among the most powerful drug trafficking organizations in Mexico," said John E. Smith, Acting Director of OFAC. "Today's action demonstrates our determination to reverse this trend and to significantly disrupt the activities of their leaders." Today's designation was taken in close coordination with the Los Angeles Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration and is part of a larger effort by the Treasury Department to collaborate with Mexican authorities in the sanctioning of Mexican drug trafficking organizations. CJNG emerged approximately five years ago from the remnants of the Milenio Cartel, which was dismantled following the capture of its designated leader, Armando Valencia Cornelio, and his successors. CJNG has expanded beyond Jalisco to other Mexican states, including Michoacan and Colima. CJNG has also further developed its ties to other criminal organizations around the world, including in the United States, Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Much of this expansion has impacted rival DTOs, including designated entities Los Caballeros Templarios and Los Zetas, by taking away their territory and market share, which has resulted in violent confrontations with CJNG and other DTOs. With additional territory, CJNG has been able to increase its drug trafficking, wealth, and influence. Nemesio (also known as Ruben and "Mencho") Oseguera Cervantes is the leader of CJNG and has been significantly involved in drug trafficking activities since the 1990s. He was convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in 1994 and served nearly three years in prison. Following his release from custody, Oseguera Cervantes returned to Mexico and reengaged in drug trafficking activity. The Los Cuinis DTO first arose in the 1990s as a faction of the Milenio Cartel and is engaged in cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking. The close alliance between CJNG and the Los Cuinis DTO is due not only to their origins in the Milenio Cartel but also because the leader of the Los Cuinis DTO, Abigael Gonzalez Valencia, is the brother-in-law of Oseguera Cervantes. Gonzalez Valencia has also been significantly involved in drug trafficking since the 1990s, when he was involved in methamphetamine trafficking. Mexican authorities captured Gonzalez Valencia in Mexico in late February 2015. In March 2014, a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia indicted Oseguera Cervantes and Gonzalez Valencia on the charge of being the principal leaders of a Continuing Criminal Enterprise, among other crimes. Since June 2000, more than 1,700 entities and individuals have been named pursuant to the Kingpin Act for their role in international narcotics trafficking. Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1.075 million per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million. Other individuals could face up to 10 years in prison and fines pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code for criminal violations of the Kingpin Act. | ||
| 'It's Like a Horror Movie': The Grisly Details Behind Mexico's Narcocorrido Murder Epidemic Posted: 13 Apr 2015 05:53 PM PDT Borderland Beat posted by DD Republished from BillBoard "Artists get killed because they played at a party for a [rival] drug dealer; because they looked at a dealer's girlfriend."On Feb. 27, 20-year-old singer Alfredito Olivas was shot eight times while performing at a nightclub in Parral, Mexico. On March 22, grupero star Javier Rosas was shot multiple times while riding in an SUV in the northern Mexico state of Sinaloa.
Both singers, known for narcocorridos -- danceable, accordion-driven songs that tell often-celebratory tales about drug dealers -- survived. But Rogelio Brambila Lizarraga, singer of Los Plebes del Arranke, a relatively obscure group whose songs reference the notorious Arellano Felix cartel, wasn't as fortunate. On March 21, the 22-year-old's body was found in a parked car in Tijuana, Mexico, riddled with bullets from two different guns. Along with the death of narcocorrido singer Ariel Camacho in a car accident, those incidents -- which took place within the span of four weeks -- have again turned the spotlight on the dangerous lives of regional Mexican singers south of the border. The deaths aren't collateral damage in a country ravaged by drug-related violence: They're an acknowledged risk for performers of the genre. "It's like a horror movie," says one independent promoter. "Artists get killed because they played at a party for a [rival] drug dealer; because they looked at a dealer's girlfriend; because they get paid to write or record a song about one dealer and a rival gets upset; or because they somehow piss off the dealer who's funding their career." Indeed, Rosas (who sang songs about the Sinaloa cartel) and Lizarraga are rumored to have been targeted by rival gangs, and Olivas is said to have been flirting with the girlfriend of the man arrested for his shooting. "When a singer gets shot, it gets bigger headlines than a police chief getting shot," says Elijah Wald, author of Narcocorrido: A Journey into the Music of Drugs, Guns and Guerillas. "There's different reasons for these killings but there are two factors that haven't changed," adds Alfredo Corchado, Mexico City bureau chief for the Dallas Morning News and author of the book Midnight in Mexico. "Impunity is very high: They kill because they can. And murder is news, which is what killers seek, and it's particularly newsy if you're dealing with a famous singer." Why would artists take such a risk? Because underworld figures are the biggest benefactors of many regional Mexican musicians' careers. "Think about it," the promoter continues. "You're a young artist and someone offers you $100,000 to record a song and make it a hit. It goes to No. 1, and suddenly Univision and Telemundo are battling for you." The killing spree goes back to the first high-profile murder of the modern era: singer Chalino Sanchez in 1992. Corridos -- narrative songs telling stories of struggle, heroes and anti-heroes have been an integral part of Mexican culture since the 1800s, and the "narco" variation has been around since the early 1900s. But the genre, which was still underground at the time of Sanchez's death, has grown in popularity along with the country's drug violence. Since then, at least a dozen big-name acts have been murdered, including Valentin Elizalde in 2006 Sergio Gomez and in 2007. And in 2013, 17 members of lesser-known band Kombo Kolombia were kidnapped and executed. Following an investigation, the DA of the state of Nuevo Leon said the musicians were ordered killed by their original benefactors, the Mexican cartel Los Zetas, as retaliation for playing shows for rival drug factions. And while some acts have curtailed their performances or stopped singing narcocorridos (like superstar Gerardo Ortiz, who has been shot at twice, though he denies any cartel connections), there is little sympathy for those who are seeking notoriety by mythologizing the cartels. "If you're not involved with drug dealers, there's no reason to be afraid," says another promoter, echoing the words of several others who work with regional Mexican acts. Yet the songs, and the violence, go on. "There's an old saying in Sinaloa: 'I'd rather live five years like a king rather than 50 years like an ox,'" says Corchado. "When I first began covering this 10 years ago, I'd hear that in Sinaloa. Now I hear it all over Mexico. That's our sad reality." | ||
| Tijuana: Killing exposes 'narco entrepreneur' Posted: 13 Apr 2015 05:18 PM PDT Murder exposes narco entrepreneur In the latest in a series of possibly related killing in Tijuana, a local businessman and entrepreneur was executed, left in the river behind Hotel Lucerne, in the upscale Zona Rio area. His death revealed he was an upper level crystal methamphetamine trafficker, who was known for sending product to the United States, with his partner, Hernando Chavez, a US Citizen. Sarak Entebi allegedly operated his business order the guise of owning several gyms in upscale, exclusive Tijuana neighborhoods, but intelligence from agencies on both sides, indicate his real profession was coordinating the smuggling and distribution of crystal. Reports allege he used a team of women, to 'mule' his product across the border, and is suspected in several murders of those he contracted to cross product, who assumedly failed him in some way. Sarak and his business partner were enjoying their night in Chapuletepec on April 11th, when according to police reports, a vehicle pulled up, and Sarak got inside to talk for a moment. The vehicles occupants then shot him multiple times, and threw his body in the river. The killing style suggests someone, or an emissary of someone, whom he trusted. His partner fled, and was arrested. There is no information regarding his affiliations in either San Diego, or Tijuana, but news source report he was considered one of the largest crystal distributors in the United States, which seems like an exaggeration, given the circumstances. Unconfirmed rumors and comments suggest he was an affiliate of La Rana. He was apparently from Michoacan, and had several twitter and social media profiles over the years, pictures accompanying reports of his murder appear to show him in an upscale home, with wrapped kilos of cocaine and plastic containers of crystal. The plastic tubberware is often how the drug is transported and packed in Tijuana. The source of the pictures is unknown, but they appear to be from a social media site, or possibly a cell phone, belonging to the victim, or his business partner. His name doesn't appear on any active arrest warrants or indictments out of San Diego, or any local media. Sources: AFN Tijuana, Zeta Tijuana |
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The trafficker was arrested on February 28 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, by a joint operation of the Navy, Federal Police and the Attorney General's Office.
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