U.S. Foreign Policy Program, Academic Webinar: U.S. Relations With South America, Webinar The traveler got out just before the group reached the border because the person didnt have the documentation needed to cross into Mexico, a law enforcement official said Wednesday. All Rights Reserved. Although Blinken stated his department is considering the route, an official plan has yet to be announced. "Those cartels are acting with calculated, deliberate treachery to get fentanyl to the United States and to get people to buy it through fake pills, by hiding it in other drugs, any means that they can take in order to drive addiction and to make money," she added. The person close to the investigation said five suspects are in custody, including two who were captured on security camera carrying out executions. The government registered more than 120,000 homicides [PDF] over the course of Calderns term, nearly twice as many as during his predecessors time in office. The two survivors -- McGee and Williams -- were found Tuesday morning in a wooden house in the Lagunona area, outside of Matamoros, Mexican officials said. The cartels and the drug trade fuel rampant, to tens of thousands of homicides in the country each. Four Americans were shot at and kidnapped after they drove into Matamoros, Mexico, just south of Brownsville, Texas, for a medical procedure. But conflict has flared in Tamaulipas over the past 15 years as the incumbent Gulf Cartel founded in Matamoros fragmented, starting with its notoriously violent armed wing, Los Zetas. Use of this Website assumes acceptance of Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy, Stay up to date on the latest, breaking news, Tourists enjoy the beach in Cancun, Mexico, Aug. 18, 2021. To have cartel gunmen shoot and kidnap Americans without provocation seems like a departure from their modus operandi, Tucker said. Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs)sometimes referred to as transnational criminal organizationsdominate the import and distribution of cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine in the United States. Gastelum Avila was arrested in January 2016 alongside his boss, infamous drug lord Joaquin Guzman Loera, widely known as El Chapo, in Sinaloa, Mexico, as they attempted to flee authorities, prosecutors said. Based in southwestern Mexico, Guerreros Unidos (United Warriors) broke away from the BLO in 2009 and became involved in the heroin trade. WebMexican President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador has been critical of the medias response to the killing. In an interview with Insight Crimes Katie Jones, University of Warwick Professor Benjamin T. Smith explains how his book The Dope unpacks misperceptions about Mexicos drug trade. "This is brutal," D'Cruz said. April 4, 2023, 11:41 AM. War-Torn Myanmar Plans to Hold Elections. Latin America Studies Program. WebTwo parents and their 6-year-old daughter were found dead at an Iowa campground Friday, and a 4th person died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in what authorities are Violence continues to rage more than a decade after the Mexican government launched a war against drug cartels. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the federal government needs to do more to end the epidemic of violence that Indigenous women and girls face after police found the body of another Indigenous woman in a landfill this week. Mexican officials confirmed Monday they discovered four dead bodies in a hotel area in the popular resort town of Cancun. In its letter, the Gulf cartel said it respects the "life, tranquility and integrity of the innocent" and apologized to "the society of Matamoros the affected American individuals, and families.". Wood, who spent 17 years living in Mexico and has studied the country for nearly three decades, said he knows the pain such incidents can cause. Mexican gangs eventually shifted from being couriers for Colombian criminal organizations, including the infamous Cali and Medelln cartels, to being wholesalers. The four Americans were shot at and kidnapped after crossing the border into northern Mexico for a medical procedure. WebThe Mexican drug cartel responsible for kidnapping four United States citizens and killing two of them could be deemed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). The meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Moscow helped both give the impression of a united front, but underlying tensions were also discernible. Most of the illicit drugs entering the United States that are seized by authorities are discovered at official ports of entry, of which there are more than three hundred. He said several suspects had been arrested in connection with the body dump, but refused to give more details. The cartel condemned the violence in a letter obtained by What surprised her were the victims: four peoplefrom the United States. The documents claim that between Aug. 2009 and Jan. 2016, Gastelum Avila served as a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel, headed by El Chapo and Ismael Zambada Garcia, also known as "El Mayo.". Police attempting to dismantle an encampment on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside were met with resistance Wednesday, and at least one person has been arrested. Palestinian militants in Gaza responded with rocket fire on southern Israel, prompting repeated Israeli airstrikes. Mexico City Assailants left 10 beaten, murdered bodies in front of the governor's office in the north-central Mexican state of Zacatecas on Thursday. Kukulcn boulevard near the popular Paradisus Cancun and Fiesta Americana resorts, Quintana Roo security official Jos de la Pea Ruiz de Chvez, American tourist took a bullet to the leg, FBI offers reward after American woman kidnapped in Mexico while walking her dog, 1,000,000 Mexican peso, roughly $55,000,reward, State Departments Exercise Increased Caution list, two Americans were abducted and two were killed last month, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. La Familia Michoacna (LFM). The gunfight happened in the city of Valparaiso in a remote area of President Obama widened the scope of aid to target fundamental reforms to Mexicos justice system and to develop crime-prevention programs at the community level, among other efforts, in what became known as Mrida 2.0 [PDF]. The coordination group said that while the deaths took place in the hotel zone, the incident did not pose a risk to visitors, hotel employees or businesses because it unfolded in the brush. WebMexico City Assailants left 10 beaten, murdered bodies in front of the governor's office in the north-central Mexican state of Zacatecas on Thursday. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The four all Mexican nationals were executed on the spot, according to a person close to the investigation. Over the decades, they have grown, splintered, forged new alliances, and battled one another for territory. Police responded to an emergency call Monday morning from an area near the Fiesta Americana Condesa Cancn, an all-inclusive beachfront hotel. Russias threat to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus has raised the specter of a new nuclear standoff with the United States and its allies in Europe. A 2021 report from the University of San Diegos Justice in Mexico initiative details organized crime and violence in Mexico and offers policy recommendations [PDF]. President Caldern declared war on the cartels shortly after taking office. Annual Lecture on China: Frayed RelationsThe United States and China, Virtual Event Canada now has its first dire wolf. American victims in Mexico. WebA man was kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel from his house in Texas two hours after bragging about stealing $50,000 from them. Multiple different law enforcement agencies, along with members of the Mexican army, responded to the scene. The country has seen more than 360,000 homicides since 2006, when the government declared war on the cartels. Civil liberties groups, journalists, and foreign officials have criticized the Mexican governments war with the cartels for years, accusing the military, police, and cartels of widespread human rights violations, including torture, extrajudicial killings, and forced disappearances. Finally, their activities must threaten U.S. citizens or U.S. national security. by Jonathan Masters and Will Merrow Two people were killed and eight wounded in shooting attacks on two bars in Cancun on May 6, 2022. The Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo said drug gang leader Hector Flores Aceves, known by his nickname "Pantera," or the Panther, was involved in the killings. Timeline of the Americans kidnapped in Mexico, cartels 'apology'. Quintana Roo officials on Monday offered the public a 1,000,000 Mexican peso, roughly $55,000,reward for information leading to the arrest of a third suspect identified in the Cancun killings as Hctor Elas Flores Aceves, known as El 15, a suspected Sinaloa Cartel operative in the area who has in the past been linked by Mexican news reports to other attacks in Cancun. The bodies of eight men and two women were found crammed into a pickup truck left before dawn near a Christmas tree in the main plaza of the state capital, also named Zacatecas. The Mexican drug cartel responsible for kidnapping four United States citizens and killing two of them could be deemed as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). Since Mexico launched a war Butrarely did that violence extend to U.S. citizens, they said. by Will Freeman and Ariana Rios Amrico Villarreal said after confirming two Americans died. One of the deceased was also found inside the house, and the second was found outside it, a source close to the investigation told ABC News.

In recent years, the group has splintered into several factions, including La Lnea, which controls street-level enforcement. The group is known to have a partnership with the CJNG, using the same transportation networks to move drug shipments to and from the United States. Differences over Taiwans status have fueled rising tensions between the island and the mainland. A high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel who is alleged to have worked closely with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was extradited to the United States to face international drug trafficking and firearms charges, prosecutors announcedTuesday. In Brief The two survivors were being treated at a hospital in Brownsville following their rescue. WebThe most infamous drug lord is Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, who was sentenced in February 2019 to life in a U.S. prison. by Thomas Graham Still, President Pea Nieto relied heavily [PDF] on the military, in combination with the federal police, to battle the cartels. WebA man from Texas has gone missing after bragging about stealing $50,000 from a Mexican drug cartel, according to reports. Study asks: When it comes to dating what matters more, personality or money? Multiple sources close to the investigation said they believe the note left on the windshield to be legitimate. McGee's mother said she had spoken to her daughter, and Williams' wife said he had been shot in the leg but was back in the U.S. Zalandria Brown of Florence, South Carolina, toldThe Associated Pressthat her younger brother, Zindell, was among the four victims.

The current diplomatic constellation presents Africa with plenty of options; the region must choose well.

Anofficial statement called the caseonly "an ongoing criminal investigation.". The United States has cooperated with Mexico on security and counternarcotics to varying degrees over the past several decades. Over the course of his six-year term, he deployed tens of thousands of military personnel to supplement and, in many cases, replace local police forces he viewed as corrupt. At the time of his arrest, Gastelum Avila was working closely with El Chapo as a lead sicario, or assassin, for the Sinaloa Cartel, court documents allege.

He later learned that several other criminal groups had pressured his captors to release him because they didn't want the U.S. government targeting them.

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