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Trump Administration Arrests 600 Mexican Cartel Members


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There’s already plenty of evidence that President Trump is positively impacting the country, but this latest story adds to the growing list.

Federal officials announced yesterday that combined efforts between the Department of Justice and the Drug Enforcement Administration led to the arrests of over 600 Mexican cartel members.

Check it out:

The Washington Post reports:

Federal authorities launched a broadside against Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation drug cartel on Wednesday, revealing that they had arrested hundreds of those associated with the gang as part of a six-month operation to attack its U.S.-based infrastructure.

The first phase of the operation — which officials dubbed “Project Python” — culminated with a nationwide roundup of the gang’s associates Wednesday, when law enforcement authorities arrested more than 250 people and seized almost 600 kilograms of drugs and more than $1.7 million in money and assets, acting Drug Enforcement Administration head Uttam Dhillon said.

Dhillon said that since the operation began Sept. 1, authorities had arrested more than 700 people associated with the gang on drug trafficking-related crimes, and seized more than 20,000 kilograms of drugs and $22 million of money and other assets.

“This operation is one of the largest, concentrated actions against a single criminal organization in many years,” Dhillon said. “By removing mid- and high-level members, we inhibit CJNG’s ability to regenerate and to continue to threaten our communities and neighborhoods with their deadly drugs.”

CJNG is an acronym that refers to the cartel.

Wednesday’s sweep is the latest in a series of aggressive moves the Justice Department has taken to target the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which they consider among the world’s most dangerous, and other Mexican drug gangs. Last month, the son of the group’s leader, was extradited from Mexico to face prosecution in federal court in Washington, D.C., and his sister was then taken into custody when she showed up at his bond hearing.

Additionally, The Hill had this to add:

“Project Python marks the most comprehensive action to date in the Department of Justice’s campaign to disrupt, dismantle, and ultimately destroy CJNG,” Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski said in a statement.

Benczkowski cited an executive order President Trump passed shortly after Trump was inaugurated in 2017 that condemned cartel operations in the U.S. and directed federal law enforcement to use the Threat Mitigation Working Group, which was put in place by the Obama administration in 2011. 

“When President Trump signed an Executive Order prioritizing the dismantlement of transnational criminal organizations, the Department of Justice answered the call and took direct aim at CJNG. We deemed CJNG one of the highest-priority transnational organized crime threats we face," he said. "And with Project Python, we are delivering results in the face of that threat for the American people.”

According to the DOJ, CJNG is active in major U.S. cities such as Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta.

The DOJ and DEA also announced a superseding indictment Wednesday on charges of alleged continuing criminal enterprise against Nemesio Ruben Oseguera Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” the leader of CJNG. 

Last month Oseguera Cervantes’s son was extradited from Mexico to the U.S. to be served drug trafficking charges. Two weeks ago, on Feb. 26, his daughter was arrested by federal officials for financial crimes.



 

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