Tag: cartels

Former federal officer sentenced for smuggling aliens and receiving bribes from cartel

A former Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer has been sentenced to federal prison in two separate cases for allowing aliens and cocaine across the border, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Emanuel Isac Celedon, 37, Laredo, pleaded guilty March 11, 2024, for his role in illegally smuggling illegal aliens into the United States through the Lincoln Juarez Port of Entry (POE) in Laredo. He also admitted to bribery and attempted importation of cocaine for accepting money to allow what he thought was cocaine to cross into the United States from Mexico. 

U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana has now imposed a total of 117 months in prison for both cases to be immediately followed by four years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay a money judgment of $17,980. At the hearing, the court noted Celedon’s job was to protect the United States from introduction of controlled substances and people not authorized to be in the country, and that he had failed in both regards. Judge Saldana added that Celedon was deeply involved in the organization and appeared to want to go even deeper.

“Anybody who aids or works for the cartel is going to find themselves on the wrong end of a federal indictment,” said Ganjei. “This case was especially troubling given the position of trust the defendant held. His criminal conduct stands in stark contrast to the heroic work the men and women of CBP are doing every day to keep our border and ports secure.”

While employed as a CBP Officer in Laredo in 2023, Celedon sought contacts within the Mexican criminal organization known as the Cartel del Noreste in order to smuggle drugs and aliens through his inspection lane in exchange for monetary payment.

During an undercover operation, Celedon expressed his interest in smuggling cocaine for payment, provided his duty schedule and gave instructions directing a loaded vehicle to his inspection lane at the port of entry. He then allowed the vehicle to safely cross into the United States. 

Using his position as a CBP officer, Celedon allowed several kilograms of what he believed to be cocaine into the United States on two separate occasions in October 2023. In exchange, he received $6,000.

Further investigation revealed Celedon also conspired with at least three others to bring illegal aliens into the United States without inspection. Celedon provided his daily lane assignment to Mexican national Homero Romero-Hernandez, 32, who passed the information to Jose Osvaldo Zapata-Vasquez, 25, another Mexican national with ties to the cartel. Zapata-Vasquez hired Cotulla resident Beatris Guadalupe Martinez, 22, to act as the driver.

Zapata-Vasquez relayed instructions to Martinez based on information Celadon provided regarding when to pick up the aliens in Mexico and which lane to approach when making entry to the United States.

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Canadian Banks Linked To Chinese Fentanyl Laundering Risk US Treasury Sanctions After Cartel Terror Designation

In an explosive interview with The Bureau’s Sam Cooper, David Asher – a former senior U.S. State Department official with close ties to the Trump administration’s financial and national security apparatus—issued a stark warning: Canadian banks could soon face a “new universe” of regulatory scrutiny from the U.S. Treasury. This follows the formal designation of Mexican cartels, including the Sinaloa group, as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). According to Asher, the command-and-control structure for laundering proceeds from synthetic narcotics—produced using Chinese precursor chemicals—is largely orchestrated by Chinese triads operating out of Canada.

Asher warned that these transnational crime gang nexus seriously threatens both U.S. national security and the stability of the North American financial system. 

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Under Trump CIA Escalates Role In Failed Mexican Drug War

Donald Trump has found a new mission for the CIA—ramping up secret drone flights over Mexico to track and hunt down leaders of Mexico’s drug cartels.

The New York Times reported in mid-February that the CIA’s covert drone program over Mexico, first initiated by the Biden administration, has proved useful in helping the Mexican government to locate fentanyl labs, which emit chemicals that make them easy to find from the air.

During the 2024 election, Trump called for the death penalty for drug dealers. Then on January 20, he signed an executive order calling for a major crackdown on Mexico’s cartels, which have been designated as a foreign terrorist organization—a label that sets the groundwork for potential U.S. military operations directed against them.[1]

On February 28, the Trump administration secured the extradition of 30 prominent Mexican cartel leaders, including Rafael Cara Quintero, a founding member of the Sinaloa drug cartel who was convicted in Mexico of masterminding the 1985 assassination of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.[2]

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Radars Deployed To Mexico Border To Detect Cartel Drones

The U.S. Army is contributing ground-based radars to help spot and track drones as part of the continued build-up of U.S. military support along the U.S.-Mexican border. Drug cartels in Mexico have been steadily increasing their use of weaponized uncrewed aerial systems, as well as unarmed types for surveillance and smuggling. There are also growing concerns about the threats drones pose to the U.S. homeland, especially military bases and other critical infrastructure.

The Department of Defense released pictures earlier today showing members of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum in New York State, training with the AN/TPQ-53 and AN/MPQ-64 Sentinel radars in Arizona. The 10th Mountain is one of a number of units from across the U.S. military that has sent personnel and material to support the enhanced border security mission that kicked off after President Donald Trump took office in January.

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Shocking Discovery of a CJNG Extermination Camp in Jalisco—Not a Single Mention from Mexico’s Cartel-Allied Government

In a chilling discovery that has shaken Mexico, the Guerreros Buscadores de Jalisco collective uncovered an extermination camp this week in the municipality of Teuchitlán, Jalisco.

The site, known as Rancho Izaguirre and allegedly operated by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), contained three clandestine ovens, charred human remains, and hundreds of personal belongings, including approximately 400 pairs of shoes, clothing, backpacks, and a farewell letter.

Authorities estimate that at least 200 people may have been victims in this gross setting, a stark reflection of the rampant violence plaguing the country.

The discovery took place on March 5, following an anonymous call alerting the collective to the presence of human remains at the ranch, located in the town of La Estanzuela.

Accompanied by members of the National Guard, the searchers found a warehouse filled with scattered personal belongings. After hours of searching, they uncovered underground ovens and a brick slab designed to make detecting the crimes more difficult. Among the most heartbreaking findings was a letter signed by Eduardo Lerma Nito, a 20-year-old who had been missing since February 2024 in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco—giving faces and names to the victims of this tragedy.

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Mexican National Guardsman Convicted of Helping Cartel Car Theft Ring in Texas

A member of Mexico’s National Guard pleaded guilty to using his position to help a car theft ring that was supplying vehicles from Texas to the Gulf Cartel in Mexico.

On Friday morning, Luis Enrique Guzman Pablo went before U.S. Magistrate in the Southern District of Texas Judge Nadia Medrano, where he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. He is expected to be sentenced at a later date. Guzman had been in federal custody since his arrest in July 2024.

According to a criminal complaint based on an investigation by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Guzman was assigned to conduct traveler inspections on the Mexican side of Veteran’s International Bridge in Brownsville, Texas. He would wave through stolen vehicles for his associates connected to the Gulf Cartel. Guzman would receive $150 per stolen vehicle that made it through his inspection area, and he told investigators he would see between five and six vehicles per day. The man told investigators that he had been coordinating the crossing of vehicles with two men who hired him, court documents revealed.

During the investigation, authorities found photographs of stolen vehicles on Guzman’s phone, which he would use to identify which vehicles to watch out for and allow to cross.

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DOJ Identifies Chinese Nationals and Companies Directly Aiding Mexican Drug Cartels and Supplying Fentanyl Precursors to Mexico

The Department of Justice has identified Chinese nationals and companies that have been directly aiding the Mexican drug cartels. This raises troubling questions, especially if the cartels are designated as foreign terrorist organizations.

One of the executive orders signed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20 is called “Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.” This order was a presidential direction to add the Mexican drug cartels to the list of foreign terrorist organizations.

The scourge of fentanyl can be traced directly to the cartels and is killing thousands of Americans per month. Combined drug overdoses in the United States leave about 120,000 people dead per year. At this rate, if no action is taken to address it, the number of overdoses will surpass the number of Americans killed in World War II—407,000—within a couple of years.

In the executive order, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was given the lead to develop the final list of groups to be designated as terrorist groups. The State Department is reported to have created a tentative list of eight groups to be placed on the formal terrorist organization list.

On “The Megyn Kelly Show” podcast on Jan. 30, Rubio said Mexico has significant amounts of ungoverned territory.

“They’re controlled by drug cartels,” he said. “They are the most powerful force on the ground, and they are plowing into the United States. … They’re facilitating illegal migration, but they are also bringing in fentanyl and deadly drugs to our country.

“That’s a national security threat, and that needs to stop.”

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Governor Youngkin’s expected cannabis veto: A $3.5 billion gift to Mexican cartels and Chinese gangs

As Governor Glenn Youngkin once again faces a bipartisan bill that would establish a regulated cannabis distribution platform in Virginia, it is widely anticipated that he will act against the public’s interest just as he did in March 2024. In the twelve months since his last veto, the only certainty is that Mexican cartels and Chinese gangs have benefited from $3.5 billion in untaxed, unregulated cannabis sales while the proliferation of hemp-based THC products has skyrocketed. We anticipate that Youngkin will once again roll out his prohibitionist arguments but will fail to point to any tangible decrease in illegal cannabis sales the over the last 12-month— further proving that gifting Mexican cartels and Chinese drug dealers $3.5 billion and allowing the proliferation of illegal stores from Arlington to the Tennessee state line has only benefited organized crime at the expense of Virginians.

Youngkin’s argument hinges on a fundamental contradiction. He acknowledges that Virginia’s current system is “pervasive and dangerous,” yet refuses to implement the one policy proven to reduce illegal markets — regulation. Instead, he clings to outdated scare tactics, misrepresenting data from other states while ignoring the realities of his own.

Prohibitionists once used the same flawed logic to keep whiskey illegal, relying on bootleggers to supply demand while enriching organized crime. The parallels to cannabis today are undeniable. By refusing to regulate cannabis, Youngkin is ensuring that the only suppliers are Mexican cartels and Chinese gangs, just as Prohibition once empowered the Mafia. This policy failure is not just historical irony — it is a $3.5 billion mistake.

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Colombian President Calls On Lawmakers To Legalize Marijuana To Combat Cartel Violence In The Illicit Market

The president of Colombia is calling on lawmakers to legalize marijuana in the country, arguing that prohibition “only brings violence” from cartels in the illicit market. And he’s also pushing other nations to legalize coca leaves for “for purposes other than cocaine.”

On Sunday, President Gustavo Petro warned in a social media post of the “multinationalization of the cocaine mafias,” claiming that there are more cartels today than before high-profile trafficker Pablo Escobar was caught and imprisoned.

“The empowerment of mafia organizations shows the failure of prohibition and the absence of alternative measures to simple prohibition,” the president said, according to a translation.

“My government will maintain full cooperation with all governments in the matter of confiscating cocaine,” he added. “And it has focused and will focus its action on large shipments and on high-ranking cocaine and money laundering bosses worldwide.”

Petro then said he’s asking the Colombian Congress to “legalize marijuana and remove violence from this crop.”

“The prohibition of marijuana in Colombia only brings violence,” he said.

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Defense Secretary Hegseth Puts Mexico on Blast: ‘Curb the Influx of Migrants and Fentanyl, or US Military Will Strike the Cartels’

Donald J. Trump is moving decisively on a wide array of fronts, both in domestic and foreign policies—and sometimes, these two categories overlap.

Take, for example, border security and the fight – on both sides of the divide with Mexico – against drug influx and illegal migrant smuggling-human trafficking operations, both undertaken by the brutal and extremely well-armed Mexican Cartels.

Here, too, Trump’s team will not operate in the old, expected fashion – but is alerting the neighboring authorities of their full intention of acting forcefully unless they up their game and tackle the issue.

A report arose that, in late January, a mere 7 days after his confirmation as Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth warned Mexican officials that the US military was ‘ready to take unilateral action’ against the country’s drug cartels.

The only way for Mexico to prevent this, the Secretary reportedly stated, is by working harder to stem the flow of fentanyl and migrants into the US.

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