Mexico's security chief says drug cartels are recruiting former Colombian soldiers
Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch's comments followed the arrest last week of 12 Colombians in the western state of Michoacan in connection with a mine attack that killed eight Mexican soldiers.
Through contact with Colombian authorities, García Harfuch said that nine of the 12 individuals were former soldiers and the remaining three were civilians with weapons training.
Close underworld ties have long existed between organized crime groups in Mexico and Colombia. For many years, Colombian drug traffickers produced cocaine and heroin and moved it themselves by boat or plane to the United States. Later, as U.S. authorities cracked down on trafficking in the Caribbean, Mexican cartels' power grew as they moved Colombian drugs over land and via small plane to the U.S. border and smuggled them across.
Decades of internal conflict in Colombia have produced tens of thousands of former soldiers, paramilitaries and guerrillas with weapons training and combat experience.
Colombians have been hired guns in the 2021 assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moïse and in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In recent weeks, Mexican immigration authorities rejected 69 Colombians trying to enter Mexico, some of whom in interviews said 'they had been coopted by some criminal group.' García Harfuch said Tuesday that both the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels were recruiting Colombians.
Colombia's ambassador to Mexico, Fernando García, said last week that he feared the arrests would negatively impact ongoing negotiations with Mexico to reduce the number of Colombians prevented from entering the country at Mexican airports.
In March, the Colombian government had said that talks with Mexico were progressing with mechanisms for Mexico and Colombia to verify information about those seeking to enter Mexico.
In October 2023, Mexican authorities arrested eight Colombians also in Michoacan state, who allegedly were helping to make explosives dropped by cartel drones.
Former soldiers from other countries have worked with Mexican cartels too. More than a decade ago, the fearsome Zetas, whose leaders came from Mexico's military, recruited former members of Guatemala's special forces Kaibiles in their ranks.
____
Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
8 minutes ago
- New York Post
California man admits to shipping weapons to North Korea — sentenced to 8 years in prison
A California man has been sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting to shipping weapons and ammunition to North Korea that he said were to be used for a surprise attack on South Korea, authorities said Tuesday. Shenghua Wen, 42, came to the U.S. from China on a student visa in 2012 and remained in the country illegally after it expired, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles. Wen pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and one count of acting as an illegal agent of a foreign government, the statement says. Advertisement 3 Shenghua Wen, 42, was sentenced to eight years in prison after he admitted to shipping weapons to North Korea for a surprise attack on South Korea. Instagram / Shenghua Wen He was sentenced on Monday. Wen told investigators that before he entered the U.S., he met with North Korean officials at an embassy in China, where they instructed him to procure goods for the North Korean government. Advertisement He also admitted that he tried to buy uniforms to disguise North Korean soldiers for the surprise attack, a federal complaint says. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has demonstrated an intent to deploy battlefield nuclear weapons along the North's border with South Korea, a U.S. ally, recently delivering nuclear-capable missile launchers to frontline military units. United Nations resolutions ban North Korea from importing or exporting weapons. In 2022, North Korean officials contacted him via an online messaging app and instructed him to buy firearms, prosecutors said. Advertisement 3 The U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles, California, revealed that Wen was staying in the U.S. illegally after his student visa expired. AP He shipped two containers of weapons and other items from Long Beach, California, to North Korea via Hong Kong in 2023. Start your day with all you need to know Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters He told U.S. authorities that he was wired about $2 million to do so, according to the complaint. Advertisement Authorities did not specify in the complaint the types of weapons that were exported. 3 Prior to arriving in the U.S. in 2012, Wen met with North Korean officials in China, where he was given instructions on how to procure goods for the North Korean government. U.S. Department of Justice To carry out his operation, Wen purchased a business in 2023 called Super Armory, a federal firearms licensee, for $150,000, and registered it under his business partner's name in Texas. He had other people purchase the firearms and then drove them to California, misrepresenting the shipments as a refrigerator and camera parts. Investigators did not say whether Wen had organized any shipments during his first 10 years in the U.S. The FBI in September seized 50,000 rounds of ammunition from Wen's home in the LA suburb of Ontario that had been stored in a van parked in the driveway, the complaint says. They also seized a chemical threat identification device and a transmission detective device that Wen said he planned to send to the North Korean government for military use, the complaint says.
Chicago Tribune
8 minutes ago
- Chicago Tribune
Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. deported to Mexico for alleged cartel ties and drug trafficking
MEXICO CITY — Boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. has been deported to Mexico, where he's wanted for alleged cartel ties, following his arrest in the U.S. for overstaying his visa and lying on a green card application. Chávez was handed over by authorities and admitted to a prison outside of the city of Hermosillo, in the northern state of Sonora, an official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the news at her daily press conference. 'I understand he was deported. I don't know if it was yesterday or this morning, but we were informed that he was arriving in Mexico,' Sheinbaum said. Chávez, 39, had a warrant for his arrest in Mexico for alleged arms and drug trafficking and ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. Alejandro Gertz Manero, Mexico's attorney general, said the investigation into Chávez started in 2019. The boxer, who is the son of legendary Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez, was arrested July 3 days after his high-profile fight with Jake Paul in California. Sheinbaum said after the arrest she hoped the boxer would be deported to face his charges. Chávez's father was a massive celebrity in the 1980s and '90s who mixed social circles with drug dealers and claimed to have been friends with drug lord Amado Carrillo Fuentes. The iconic fighter defended his son following his arrest, but has not spoken since the deportation. The younger Chávez has battled drug addiction for much of his boxing career, failing drug tests, serving suspensions and egregiously missing weight while being widely criticized for his intermittent dedication to the sport. Chavez won the WBC middleweight title in 2011 and defended it three times. He shared the ring with generational greats Canelo Álvarez and Sergio Martinez, losing to both. In 2012, he was convicted of drunken driving in Los Angeles and sentenced to 13 days in jail. In January 2024, he was arrested on gun charges. Police said he possessed two AR-style ghost rifles. He was later freed on a $50,000 bond and on condition he went to a residential drug treatment facility. The case is still pending, with Chávez reporting his progress regularly.
San Francisco Chronicle
16 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Former Miami Heat security officer pleads guilty to selling stolen memorabilia
MIAMI (AP) — A former Miami Heat security officer pleaded guilty Tuesday to transporting and transferring millions of dollars worth of stolen game-worn jerseys and other memorabilia. Marcos Thomas Perez, 62, was a 25-year retired veteran of the Miami Police Department. The Miami resident worked for the Heat from 2016 to 2021 and as an NBA security employee from 2022 to 2025. According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida and FBI Miami, Perez stole more than 400 jerseys and other items from a secured equipment room and sold items through various online marketplaces. He had access because he worked on the game-day security detail at the Kaseya Center. He was one of a few employees with access to a secured equipment room that stored memorabilia the Heat organization planned to display in a future team museum. Over a three-year period, authorities say Perez sold more than 100 stolen items for approximately about $1.9 million and shipped them across state lines, often at bargain prices. They say he sold a Miami Heat jersey LeBron James wore during the NBA Finals for approximately $100,000. That same jersey later sold at a Sotheby's auction for $3.7 million. ___
