Tag: mexico

Mexican Town Set Ablaze After Military Arrests Terrorist Cartel Leader

Members of the United Cartels set fire to a town in the Mexican state of Michoacan following a military raid where authorities arrested one of the top leaders of the terrorist organization. That leader had previously been a top official within the Michoacan state police forces and still held sway over local law enforcement.

The riotous acts of destruction took place over the weekend in the town of Los Reyes and nearby communities, when cartel gunmen set up numerous blockades and torched vehicles and buildings in response to a military raid targeting their leader, Alfonoso “Poncho La Quiringa” Fernandez Magallanes. Fernandez is a known drug lord wanted by the U.S. Department of Justice, which offered a $5 million reward for his capture.

The raid took place on Saturday afternoon, when Mexican military and federal police forces arrested Fernandez and several of his close allies with Carteles Unidos. Soon after the arrest, his gunmen set up blockades, torched vehicles and buildings throughout Los Reyes and surrounding communities in an attempt to pressure Mexico’s government into releasing the man known as La Quiringa. While the tactic had worked in the past, this time, Mexico’s federal government did not budge.

Soon after, Mexico’s top security official, Omar Garcia Harfuch, announced Fernandez’s capture. On Sunday, his staff released additional information about the wanted drug lord and his organization. According to authorities, La Quiringa has been one of the leaders behind the hiring of Colombian terrorists and guerrilla fighters, as well as the use of drones to drop explosives on their rivals and military forces.

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Israel protects Mexican official wanted for mass kidnap-murder, along with accused sex criminals and fraudsters

Israel has become a haven for international criminals. Many are dual-nationals who have taken advantage of their ability to move seamlessly between Israel and their second country of citizenship to commit crimes and, in some cases, evade justice.

The scale of the criminality, and the volume of cases (relative to the population of Israel), is astonishing.

Among the most notorious accused criminals being protected from justice by Israel is Timur Mindich, the ultimate financial beneficiary of the Ukrainian drone maker Fire Point. Mindich fled to Israel last year, just days before being charged as the mastermind behind a $100 million embezzlement scheme involving Ukraine’s state nuclear power company. Mindich also happens to be the co-owner of Kvartal 95 Studio, the production company founded by Volodymyr Zelensky.

Mindich, like many in this article, has taken advantage of Israel’s controversial Law of Return which allows any Jew in the world to claim Israeli citizenship without having to renounce their home country passport.

Some of those accused and charged have made minor or international headlines, some haven’t, but the scale of the issue was such that I thought it would be useful to document my research here.

In some cases, Israel has refused to extradite the wanted person despite requests from the country in which the crimes were committed.

Staying on Ukraine and refused extradition requests, we have Oleksandr Dubilet, the former Chairman of the Board of Ukraine’s PrivatBank. Dubilet is currently a fugitive in Israel and the subject of multiple criminal investigations and extradition requests for his role in embezzling at least $100 million dollars following the 2016 privatisation of PrivatBank. To date, Israel has refused to extradite him.

Israel as a bolthole for financial fraudsters is a common theme. One of the most significant SEC fraud cases in recent years involved over 150 Israelis (some with dual US-Israeli nationality, others not), wanted for their role in conducting binary options fraud worth upwards of $100 billion.

Binary options are a type of financial bet where the outcome is essentially all-or-nothing. Instead of buying a stock or currency, you bet on whether the price of a stock or currency will be above or below a certain level at a specific time. While not illegal, the Israeli companies were accused of rigging and manipulating prices and expiry times and using fake identities.

For a decade until 2017, Israel was the global centre for the online binary-options industry. The Israeli police failed to investigate, so hundreds of cases were filed in Israeli courts by people from dozens of countries who had been defrauded.

One of the most notorious fraudsters was Lee Elbaz, the CEO of Yukom Communications, a dual US-Israeli national. She was arrested in 2017 when on holiday in New York and eventually convicted of wire fraud and sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Other prime Israeli movers in the binary options fraud business were Yossi Herzog and Yakov Cohen, both connected with Yukom and other binary options front companies. They were charged with $140 million fraud in 2019 but despite being under a DOJ criminal investigation the US choose not to pursue their extradition, while other Israeli co-conspirators in the Yukom case have joined Elbaz in serving jail sentences.

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Report: Cartel Rifles Seized in Mexican Border State Tied to U.S. Department Of State

At least four rifles seized in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas during cartel arrests are allegedly linked to the U.S. Department of State. A report by Mexico’s El Debate revealed that the rifles were part of various weapons seized during several cartel raids since late 2004.

The Tamaulipas Attorney General’s Office is investigating the seizure, claiming the weapons are linked to the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service. The report does not reveal if the weapons were stolen or lost. The first seizure took place during the Biden administration in Nuevo Padilla in October 2024, the second one in November 2024. The other two seizures took place during the Trump Administration, with one in March in Ciudad Victoria and one in April in Miguel Aleman. The report did not provide additional details as to the type of weapons or the specifics of each seizure.

The report by El Debate comes at a time when Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has been trying to blame the United States government for not doing enough to stop the flow of weapons south. As Breitbart Texas has reported, Sheinbaum has been hiding behind a nationalistic rhetoric in an attempt to deal with the pressure from the Trump Administration to fight drug cartels.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the criminal indictment of Sinaloa Governor Ruben Rocha Moya and nine of his closest allies on federal drug trafficking and weapons charges for allegedly working for the Sinaloa Cartel. Rather than help with the arrest and extradition of the individuals, Sheinbaum has publicly defended Rocha Moya, who is from the same political party by claiming that there is no evidence of wrongdoing and that the U.S. government is trying to damage her political party, MORENA. As Breitbart Texas reported, Sheinbaum’s response has triggered international tensions with key members of the U.S. government, while U.S. President Donald J. Trump has publicly stated that Mexico is controlled by cartels.

Tensions have continued to escalate this year as the U.S. Department of State has revoked the visas of several MORENA politicians, including at least three sitting governors, several mayors and various other federal officials, Breitbart Texas has reported.

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Another Mayor Killed in Lawless Mexico – Ruling Party Politician Had Survived a Previous Assassination Attempt

Mayor Valentin Lavin was gunned down inside the city hall.

The security situation in Mexico continues to deteriorate, with even elected officials hunted down and killed at an alarming rate.

Since Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum took office back in October 2024, at least 14 sitting mayors have been assassinated.

Of those, three mayors were killed just in the first half of 2026.

In the latest chapter of this horrific saga, a small-town mayor in central Mexico was shot dead inside the town hall after surviving a previous assassination attempt.

CBS News reported:

“The town of Temoac is located in the state of Morelos, a region close to Mexico City where several drug cartels are active.

Mayor Valentin Lavin, who was allied to President Claudia Sheinbaum’s leftist party, had already survived an armed attack in January, according to local media reports.”

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Mexican State Police Carrying Out Raids on Behalf of Terrorist Cartels

Two high-ranking police officers in the Mexican State of Michoacán have been carrying out raids on behalf of the terrorist organization United Cartels. One of those officers had been investigated for his cartel ties but is now back on the job, carrying out raids and alleged abductions with complete impunity.

Breitbart News Foundation has obtained a series of photographs that appear to show Michoacan State Police officers carrying out raids on homes suspected of being used by criminal organizations that are rivals of United Cartels and their allies, including the Knights Templars. The raids are reportedly led by Commanders Marco Tulio Vertiz Rodriguez and Romualdo Albiter Rebollar. The two police leaders are allegedly working under orders of a cartel figure named Carmelo Alvarez Espinoza.

One of those raids took place this week in a rural area near the city of Apatzingán, Michoacán. In the photographs, the officers are seen pulling up to a home and raiding the property.

In response to the raids, Apatzingan has seen a series of banners posted throughout town denouncing the two police commanders for working with organized crime. The banners are addressed to Michoacan’s Governor Alfredo Ramirez Bedolla, asking him to do something. In the banners, the two police officials are accused of working with a local police chief in an attempt to use police forces to push out rival criminal organizations and regain territories that had previously been lost by the Knights Templar cartel.

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Mexican President Blames Biden-Era Policies for Rise in Cartel Violence

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum is blaming Biden-era policies of the United States government for having helped set off the fierce turf war that followed. The turf war erupted after the split between the two main factions of the Sinaloa Cartel following the arrest of the fearsome cartel boss Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada.

During her morning news conferences, Sheinbaum claimed that if the Biden administration had shared information with Mexican authorities and let them carry out the arrest, the cartel would not have split, and the violence spreading through Mexico would not have happened. The comments come at a time when tensions are high with the United States over Sheinbaum’s refusal to fight cartels. Her comments also come soon after the Mexican president announced that her government would be taking legal action against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in connection with the deaths of migrants in detention centers and during raids.

In regard to the violence in Sinaloa, Sheinbaum was referring to the 2024 kidnapping and arrest of Zambada at the hands of the Chapitos faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. The operation took place in the last year of the Biden administration. As Breitbart Texas reported at the time, the leaders of Los Chapitos, who are the sons of jailed Sinaloa Cartel kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and inherited his power, had called a meeting with El Mayo only to capture him and fly him to the United States. When the airplane landed, U.S. federal agents were waiting to arrest El Mayo, who pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges and is awaiting sentencing later this month. The kidnapping and arrest of El Mayo sparked a fierce turf war within the Sinaloa Cartel that has led to thousands of murders, kidnappings, and forced disappearances.

The issue of El Mayo’s arrest has gained relevance in recent days after a series of leaked photographs showed how U.S. agents had been waiting for El Mayo, pointing to some coordination between Los Chapitos and U.S. law enforcement. The issue comes at a time when the Trump administration has been pressuring Sheinbaum to eradicate drug cartels, leading to heightened tensions between the two governments.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Justice delivered a heavy blow to Sheinbaum’s credibility when it announced a criminal indictment against Sinaloa’s Governor Ruben Rocha Moya and nine of his closest officials, who were the heads of the state law enforcement apparatus. As Breitbart Texas has reported, rather than help with the arrests and extraditions, Sheinbaum has used the claim of national sovereignty to refuse U.S. help in fighting cartels and has publicly defended Rocha Moya, who is from the same political party, claiming that there is no proof of wrongdoing on his part. Federal prosecutors in the United States claim that Rocha Moya worked with Los Chapitos, providing them with protection in exchange for bribes and political support.

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Mexico’s First Openly Gay Mayor Slain in Guadalajara as World Cup Highlights More Than 135,000 Disappearances and more Journalist Killings

Mexico’s hosting of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was meant to showcase national pride, soccer passion, and cultural unity before a global audience. Instead, the tournament has unfolded against the backdrop of some of the country’s deepest crises: cartel violence, forced disappearances, killings of public officials and journalists, and protests by families searching for missing loved ones.

The July 7 killing of Benjamín Medrano Quezada, Mexico’s first openly gay mayor, brought those realities into even sharper focus.

Medrano, 59, was shot and killed in Guadalajara, Jalisco, after leaving an ice cream shop in the Santa Elena de la Cruz neighborhood. According to authorities, gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire multiple times, striking him in the head and face.

Medrano served as mayor of Fresnillo, Zacatecas—one of Mexico’s largest municipalities and a strategic corridor for drug trafficking—from 2013 to 2015 before later serving as a federal deputy. He made history as one of Mexico’s first openly gay mayors and was also known as a singer, businessman, and owner of a gay bar in Fresnillo.

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Mexican Government Delays Biometric Registration Deadline After Massive Public Resistance

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has announced an extension to a controversial deadline that required Mexican citizens and foreign residents to register their phone lines with their identification. The move comes after less than half of the country signed up to register their phone lines.

On Thursday morning, Mexico’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (CRT) announced a staggered extension for citizens to register their mobile phone lines with their identification. This controversial requirement has received pushback and resistance from the Mexican population, many of whom question how their data will be stored and used.

According to the announcement, prepaid phone lines that have not yet been linked to an identity will now have until between August and December to complete the process, with the deadline based on the last digit of the phone number. The new policy states that after the deadline expires, telephone companies will suspend service to non-compliant lines within 72 hours.

“For the safety of all, every telephone number must be registered in the name of one person, in order to eliminate the anonymity that has allowed crime such as fraud or extortion,” the press release reads. “With this measure, Mexico will cease to be one of the few countries that allowed the acquisition of a SIM card without identification, and will join the international practice currently in place in 166 countries.”

Calls for a deadline extension have increased in recent weeks, as many critics believe the government did not adequately prepare the public for the change. In late May, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim called for an extension because the process was “very complicated” and progressing slowly.

With the extension of the deadline, the Mexican government and telecom companies are hoping extra time is all that will be necessary to convince more than 50 million people to comply with the mandate. This may prove more challenging than they anticipated in a country well known for mistrust of official institutions.

The requirement to link a person’s ID with their phone line is a fairly new development in Mexico—one of the few places in the world where individuals could still purchase and use SIM cards in cellphones without registering a name or showing some form of identification. All of that changed in July 2025 when several new laws took effect that compel the population to register for a biometric program required to access many services, including phone and internet access. Phone users were originally instructed to register their phone line with their telecommunications provider before June 30, 2026, or face interruption of service. This would force businesses selling these services to check a customer’s CURP before purchase.

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Journalist Murdered in Mexico Received Threats from Law Enforcement

A group of gunmen shot and killed a journalist in Mexico. The crime comes just days after a female journalist was kidnapped in the same state of Veracruz. The attack is even more alarming as the murdered journalist was under government protection after having received threats from law enforcement.

The murder took place early Thursday morning when Luis Angel Lopez Valdez traveled along a busy avenue in Poza Rica, Veracruz. A group of gunmen pulled up alongside him and opened fire before speeding away. By the time authorities responded, Lopez was already dead.

The journalist was a crime reporter for Vanguardia Newspaper. He also ran his own crime blog and served as a regional director for the first-aid organization Amber Cross. According to Mexico’s Zeta magazine, Lopez was under government protection after having been the target of threats from alleged law enforcement officials in connection with his work as a journalist.

As Breitbart Texas reported, Veracruz is one of the deadliest places in Mexico for journalists due to the impunity with which cartels operate in that state. Those cartels are often protected by government officials at the highest levels who have a long history of looking the other way in exchange for bribes and political support.

The murder of Lopez comes days after a group of gunmen stormed into a home in rural Veracruz and kidnapped Roxana Guzman, a female journalist who had exposed widespread cartel corruption in the region. Her fate remains unknown.

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Mexican Authorities Make Gruesome Discovery Outside Iran’s World Cup Training Camp

Mexican authorities discovered a decomposing body stuffed inside the trunk of an abandoned vehicle just yards from where Iran’s national soccer team is preparing for the 2026 World Cup.

The grim discovery was made Friday in a supermarket parking lot across from Caliente Stadium in Tijuana, where Iran has established its training base ahead of upcoming matches in the United States.

According to local authorities, residents had complained for days about a foul odor coming from a gray Toyota SUV parked in the lot.

When officers inspected the vehicle, they found a body wrapped in a black bag inside the trunk.

“Upon inspecting the vehicle, they found a person wrapped in a black bag in the trunk, showing signs of violence,” a spokesman for the Tijuana prosecutor’s office said.

Officials have not released the identity of the victim.

Forensic investigators were seen examining the SUV and collecting evidence from the scene before removing the body.

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