DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Search suspended for US sailors last seen in northwest Mexico, Coast Guard says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A view of the marina where three American sailors left earlier this month to San Diego, U.S. before went missing, as authorities suspended their search, in Mazatlan, Mexico April 20, 2023. REUTERS/Eduardo ResendizMEXICO CITY, April 20 (Reuters) - The search for three American sailors last seen in northwest Mexico has been suspended by the Mexican Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard, a Coast Guard spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday. The three sailors, identified as Kerry O'Brien, Frank O'Brien and William Gross, were last seen on April 4 in the northwestern state of Sinaloa, the Coast Guard said last week. Los Angeles-based Coast Guard spokesman Richard Uranga told Reuters that after the Mexican Navy had suspended their search, the U.S. Coast Guard had followed suit. Uranga said he did not have further information on why the search was called off.

☆ Mexican president likens top judges to disgraced ex-official after military setback
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled legislation promoted by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador mandating that the Army assume control of the National Guard was unconstitutional. Two of four justices nominated by the president voted against his plan. Eight of 11 justices voted it down in total. Lopez Obrador, who has suffered a number of setbacks at the hands of the court, will leave office at the end of September 2024 following general elections in June 2024. The next Congress will begin on Sept. 1, 2024, the day Lopez Obrador said he would present his initiative to reform the constitution to enshrine military control of the National Guard.

☆ Mexico and U.S. search for three American sailors last seen in Sinaloa
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, April 15 (Reuters) - Mexico's Navy and the United States are searching for three American sailors who were last seen on April 4 in the northwestern Mexican state of Sinaloa, the U.S. Coast Guard said. The three sailors reportedly left the port city of Mazatlan en route to San Diego and were due to stop in Cabo San Lucas on April 6 for provisions and to report in, but they never made it. "There was no record of them arriving in Cabo San Lucas or a report in of their location," the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement published late on Friday. "Urgent marine information broadcasts have been issued over VHF radio requesting all mariners to keep a lookout for the missing persons and vessel," the U.S. Coast Guard said. The disappearance of the sailors comes about a month after the high-profile kidnapping of a group of Americans in the border town of Matamoros.

☆ U.S. Indicts Four Sons of Imprisoned Drug Lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( José De Córdoba | Anthony Harrup | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Attorney General Merrick Garland said Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel is largely responsible for the manufacture of fentanyl and its distribution in the U.S. The U.S. indicted several members of Mexico’s powerful Sinaloa cartel, including four sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán, for leading what U.S. officials say is the world’s most prolific fentanyl-trafficking operation. The indictments unsealed Friday came a day after Mexican cabinet members met in Washington with Attorney General Merrick Garland and other senior U.S. officials to coordinate cross-border actions against the smuggling of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that has led to tens of thousands of overdose deaths in the U.S.

April 14 (Reuters) - The United States has charged leaders of the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel with running a fentanyl trafficking operation fueled by Chinese chemical and pharmaceutical companies, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Friday. Federal prosecutors unsealed three separate indictments charging more than two dozen defendants based in Mexico, China and Guatemala, eight of whom are in custody. Among those awaiting extradition is Ovidio Guzman Lopez, one of El Chapo's sons, who was arrested in Mexico earlier this year. Prosecutors also charged four owners of Chinese companies that allegedly provided precursor chemicals to the cartel. "The PRC government must stop the unchecked flow of fentanyl precursor chemicals that are coming out of China," he said, referring to the People's Republic of China.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the charges at a news conference in Washington, alongside Drug Enforcement Administration Administrator Anne Milgram and other top federal prosecutors. The fentanyl trafficking, weapons and money laundering charges in three indictments involved a total of 28 defendants: 23 of whom are based in Mexico, four in China and one in Guatemala. A senior administration official on a call with reporters on Friday called the reward offers “unprecedented.”“These targets traffic fentanyl from around the world including from Mexico, (China) and Guatemala. These reward offers are part of a government wide attempt to put a halt to trafficking in illicit fentanyl and its precursor,” they added. And in late March, the US Food and Drug Administration approved an over-the-counter version of the opioid overdose antidote Narcan for the first time.

☆ Justice Department to announce charges against more than 24 Mexican drug cartel members
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Mirna Alsharif | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The Justice Department plans to announce charges against more than 24 Mexican drug cartel leaders and members, according to senior law enforcement officials. The announcement is expected on Friday morning and is part of the Drug Enforcement Administration's push to target the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) groups, the officials say. "The Sinaloa cartel and the Jalisco cartel and their affiliates control the vast majority of the fentanyl global supply chain, from manufacture to distribution," DEA Administrator Anne Milgram told Congress last month. The Sinaloa cartel "remains the most powerful" drug trafficking organization in Mexico despite the conviction of El Chapo, experts said. El Chapo's arrest also led to intensification of bloody clashes with the CJNG, which split from the Sinaloa Cartel in 2010.

☆ Ally of Mexico's 'El Chapo' extradited to US over drug charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Reuters) - A top member of the powerful Mexican drug cartel formerly led by notorious kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is facing international drug trafficking and firearms charges after being extradited to the U.S., the Justice Department said on Tuesday. Gastelum remained detained in Mexico until his extradition to the U.S. on April 1, the department said. Gastelum, 42, made an initial appearance in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday, facing drug and fire arms charges, the department said. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for the drug conspiracy charge and a mandatory consecutive sentence of 30 years for the firearms offense, it added. He has been serving a life sentence at Colorado's Supermax, the most secure U.S. federal prison.

[1/6] Pills are pictured at a fentanyl pill manufacturing center and a methamphetamine lab seized by the Mexican Army, in Culiacan, in Sinaloa state, Mexico February 14, 2023. Reuters GraphicsThe hiked up figures are not credible, say two former senior law enforcement figures in Mexico and the United States, as well as two serving Mexican security sources. The description of the drugs the Mexicans say they seized in the labs also raises questions about the accuracy of the lab data, said two of the security sources. Laboratory busts, often in hard-to-reach mountainous areas, have historically been a key metric for how active Mexican security forces have been in targeting drug trafficking groups. In 2022, FGR reported 18 lab raids by all security agencies, compared to the army's count of 492 raids.

☆ Mexican president says more fentanyl enters the U.S. and Canada than Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

However, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told a news conference it was not Mexico that was responsible for the introduction of most fentanyl into the United States. "I maintain that more fentanyl reaches the United States and Canada directly than reaches Mexico," he said. Lopez Obrador, who has bristled at suggestions the U.S. could intervene in Mexico, said Mexican officials had explained to him that only blue fentanyl pills turned up in Mexico. "Over in the United States they've got all colors and flavors," the president said. Asked whether there were fentanyl production labs in the country, Lopez Obrador said "yes" but underlined that the raw materials used to make the drug were coming from Asia.

☆ Lindsey Graham is calling for the US to unleash its 'fury and might' to destroy the Mexican drug cartels
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Sen. Lindsey Graham wants to unleash the "fury and might" of the US on Mexico's cartels. Graham says the US needs to destroy cartels because too many Americans have died of fentanyl overdoses. Graham said he plans to introduce bipartisan legislation in the coming days, to designate the drug cartels as terrorist organizations. He also said he wants to introduce legislation authorizing the US military to use force to destroy Mexican drug labs. "Not to invade Mexico, not to shoot Mexican airplanes down, but to destroy drug labs that are poisoning Americans," he said.

☆ U.S. requests extradition of Ovidio Guzman, son of 'El Chapo', from Mexico -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Lizbeth Diaz | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Feb 27 (Reuters) - The United States asked Mexico's government to extradite Ovidio Guzman, son of jailed drug boss Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, so that he can face criminal charges in a U.S. court, two Mexican government sources told Reuters on Monday. "El Chapo" rose to power as the head of the Sinaloa Cartel, before he was extradited to the United States in 2017. Soldiers detained Ovidio in 2019 but he was quickly released as his capture sparked a massive influx of gunmen into Culiacan. In 2021, the U.S. State Department had offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Ovidio's arrest or conviction. Ovidio has been charged in the U.S. with conspiracy to traffic cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana into the country.

☆ A major investigation in Arizona yielded $13 million worth of drugs, including 30 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

About 30 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl were found during an Arizona police investigation. A picture of the seized drugs was also released by the authorities. The seized drugs included 4.5 million fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl, 145 pounds of fentanyl powder, 304 pounds of cocaine, 3,100 pounds of methamphetamine, and 77 pounds of heroin. Currently, it is one of the top substances leading to lethal drug overdose in the United States. Last year, the DEA in Arizona seized over $22 million in fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills and about 1,100 pounds of fentanyl powder, the press release said.

☆ A Senate hearing on drug trafficking shows how meaningless the world 'cartel' has become
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( Steven Dudley | Insight Crime | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

During a recent Senate hearing on fentanyl trafficking, lawmakers and officials used the word "cartel" 90 times. InSight Crime analysisA Sinaloa Cartel leadership chart from November 2015 with "El Chapo" Guzmán and two of his sons, Ivan Archivaldo and Jesus Alfredo. The Sinaloa Cartel, for instance, has at least three major poles of power, each of which is controlled by different leaders. Sinaloa cartel chief Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman arrives in New York after his extradition in January 2017. Milgram, for instance, pointed to the DEA's laser focus on the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG as the path to success.

☆ Marijuana legalization has stalled in Mexico, but farmers and cartels are still making big plans to profit off a new market
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Luis Chaparro | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

An effort to legalize marijuana in Mexico has stalled after several years of debate by lawmakers. But Mexican cartels and independent growers are still preparing to cater to a new domestic market. The Sinaloa Cartel in particular is drawing business lessons from marijuana dispensaries in the US. At the current price for weed, Margarita gets roughly $25 a kilo. A marijuana legalization activist smokes marijuana in front of the San Lazaro Legislative Palace in Mexico City in October 2022.

☆ U.S. Jury Convicts Mexico’s Former Top Cop of Drug Trafficking
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( James Fanelli | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Judge Brian Cogan instructs the jury ahead of deliberations in the trial of Genaro García Luna earlier this month. Mexico’s former top law-enforcement officer was found guilty in a federal court Tuesday of helping the powerful Sinaloa drug cartel smuggle cocaine into the U.S.A jury in Brooklyn convicted Genaro García Luna of all five counts he faced, including engaging in a criminal enterprise and conspiring to distribute drugs. Mr. García Luna headed Mexico’s federal investigation agency and served as the country’s minister for public security from 2006 to 2012 under then-president Felipe Calderón.

The jury found Garcia Luna guilty on all five counts he faced, which included continuing criminal enterprise and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Garcia Luna is one of the highest-ranking Mexican officials ever accused of ties to drug trafficking. Garcia Luna, who moved to the United States after leaving office and was arrested in 2019, had pleaded not guilty. Cesar de Castro, a defense lawyer, portrayed Garcia Luna as a hardworking family man and said his accusers had "incredible motives to lie." Guzman was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 following his conviction in Brooklyn on drug trafficking and murder conspiracy charges.

☆ Ex-Mexico drug czar helped Sinaloa cartel's 'cocaine empire,' U.S. prosecutor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jane RosenbergNEW YORK, Feb 15 (Reuters) - A former Mexican law enforcement official once in charge of the country's battle against drug trafficking helped the Sinaloa cartel build a "global cocaine empire" in exchange for millions of dollars in bribes, a U.S. prosecutor said on Wednesday. "These leaders paid the defendant bribes for protection - and they got what they paid for," Komatireddy said, referring to Guzman and two other top-ranking Sinaloa cartel figures. Garcia Luna, she said, "used his official government position to make millions of dollars for himself from the people he was supposed to prosecute." Garcia Luna, one of the highest-ranking Mexican officials ever accused of helping drug cartels, led Mexico's Federal Investigation Agency from 2001 to 2005 and was public security minister from 2006 to 2012. Guzman was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 following his conviction in Brooklyn on drug trafficking and murder conspiracy charges.

☆ Mexico arrests cartel member suspected of leading fentanyl trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MEXICO CITY, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Mexico's defence ministry said Sunday that security forces had arrested a suspected top cartel member accused of leading the region's production of fentanyl, which has killed thousands in the United States. The arrest, which took place on Thursday in the state of Sinaloa, came just weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden visited Mexico, and followed the recent high-profile arrest of cartel leader Ovidio Guzman. The suspect is described as being a leading logistics chief for the famed narco trafficker known as "Mayo Zambada," who jointly headed the powerful Sinaloa cartel. Following standard procedure in Mexcio, it named him as Jose "N", not giving his full name. Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Isabel Woodford; Editing by Bradley PerrettOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn say Garcia Luna gave the Sinaloa Cartel sensitive information about its rivals as well as safe passage for drug shipments. Garcia Luna has previously accused drug traffickers of leveling false allegations against him as revenge for the actions he took against cartels. Guzman was sentenced to life in prison in 2019 following his conviction in Brooklyn on drug trafficking and murder conspiracy charges. Mexico's government in 2020 issued an arrest warrant of its own for Garcia Luna on charges of illegal enrichment. Mexico also sued Garcia Luna in Florida, where he had been living before his 2019 arrest, in an effort to recover what it called illegally obtained assets.

JESÚS MARÍA, Mexico—In the predawn hours of Jan. 5, hundreds of Sinaloa cartel gunmen raced to this dusty town to try to rescue their boss from Mexican soldiers who had laid siege to his ranch, according to residents, gang members and Mexico’s military. But the small army of gunmen proved no match for Mexico’s military, which used gunships to strafe the convoy of pickup trucks rigged with makeshift armor and high-caliber guns in the capture of Ovidio Guzmán, the son of former Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, witnesses said.

☆ Ovidio Guzmán's arrest may be the start of a campaign against El Chapo's sons and the Sinaloa cartel
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Chris Dalby | Insight Crime | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Mexican authorities arrested Ovidio Guzmán, son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán, earlier this month. The US has demanded action on fentanyl, and Ovidio's arrest may prompt Mexico to continue a targeted campaign. Ovidio Guzmán López is one of the four sons of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, alias "El Chapo," who is seeking to continue their father's legacy. Vehicles torched during a January 5 operation to arrest Ovidio Guzman in Culiacan on January 7. In the last couple of years alone, they have mounted targeted operations at rivals within the Sinaloa Cartel and beyond.

☆ Fact Check-Clip shows Arma 3 video game footage, not gun fire in Mexico following Ovidio Guzman’s arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The clip circulating online shows rounds being fired from an aircraft, with bullets then seen aiming toward the aircraft. Examples of the miscaptioned clip shared by social media users online can be viewed (here), (here), (here). The clip is inauthentic, however, and shows footage from Arma 3 gameplays, as confirmed to Reuters by a spokesperson for Bohemia Interactive, the developer of the game. A side-by-side comparison between the clip circulating online (L) and the above YouTube link (R) can be seen (ibb.co/T1jmb16). Reuters has repeatedly addressed clips from Arma 3 gameplays shared online with claims that the footage shows authentic scenes from the Ukraine war (here), (here).

☆ Fact Check-Video of street shootout in Mexico between military and other vehicles predates Ovidio Guzman’s arrest in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The video has been online since at least Dec. 25, 2022 and appears to have been recorded in Tamaulipas, another Mexican state. “The Sinaloa Cartel Has launched wide scale retaliatory attacks against Mexican Security forces after the capture of Ovidio Guzmán. The video clip, however, predates his capture. Local media reports locating the video clip in Nuevo Laredo in the state of Tamaulipas are viewable (here), (here), (here), (here). The video clip does not show retaliatory attacks by the Sinaloa Cartel in January 2023.

☆ Fact Check-Clip of rounds being shot from a machine gun on an aircraft pre-dates Ovidio Guzman’s arrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

A clip of machine gun rounds being fired from an aircraft pre-dates the arrest of drug cartel leader Ovidio Guzman, a son of incarcerated kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. The clip was shared widely online following Guzman’s capture on Jan. 5 and shows rounds of bullets being shot from an aircraft in what appears to be an arid location. Examples of the miscaptioned clip shared online in January 2023 can be viewed (bit.ly/3QrAAu3), (here), (here), (here) and (here). The video was uploaded by a Facebook page on Aug. 21, 2021 (here), archived (archive.is/wip/TJ2Qc). The clip pre-dates Guzman’s arrest and was uploaded to Facebook in August 2021.

Search resuls for: "sinaloa"

25 mentions found