DOJ: Fugitive Former Olympian Ryan Wedding, Subject of $10M Reward, Could Kill Witnesses
This is a complex case involving a sophisticated drug-trafficking organization, whose leaders have shown a callous disregard for human life...deploying hitmen to execute perceived rivals or enemies," prosecutors argued in a motion for a protective order. Wedding and Clark, prosecutors say, are charged with four murders and one attempted murder between them. And while "Wedding is at large, presumably with the same access to encrypted means of communication and network of hitmen that enabled the charged murders," it is crucial to ensure the safety of cooperators by protecting their identities, prosecutors argued.The court agreed with prosecutors and issued an order that lays out a litany of rules designed to make sure Wedding and his codefendants do not gain access to "CI" or Confidential Informant, materials. "Each defendant's defense counsel shall ensure that the defendant is never left alone with any CI Materials," the court ruled. The court agreed with prosecutors and issued an order that lays out a litany of rules designed to make sure Wedding and his codefendants do not gain access to "CI" or Confidential Informant, materials. "Each defendant's defense counsel shall ensure that the defendant is never left alone with any CI Materials," the court ruled. Wedding's transnational drug trafficking operation, law enforcement officials say, "routinely shipped hundreds of kilograms of cocaine from Colombia, through Mexico and Southern California, to Canada, and other locations in the United States." The drugs were often secreted in stash houses in and around Los Angeles for shipment by long haul truckers to Canada.
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2 hours ago
Mexico transfers 26 cartel figures wanted by US authorities in deal with Trump administration
WASHINGTON -- Mexico sent 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the United States Tuesday in the latest major deal with the Trump administration as American authorities ratchet up pressure on criminal networks smuggling drugs across the border. Those handed over to U.S. custody include Abigael González Valencia, a leader of 'Los Cuinis,' a group closely aligned with notorious cartel Jalisco New Generation or CJNG. Another defendant, Roberto Salazar, is wanted in connection to the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy. Other prominent figures have ties to the Sinaloa Cartel and other violent drug trafficking groups. The transfers are a milestone for the Trump administration, which is made dismantling dangerous drug cartels a key Justice Department priority. It's the second time in months that Mexico has expelled cartel figures accused of narcotics smuggling, murder and other crimes amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration to curb the flow of drugs onto American streets. 'These 26 men have all played a role in bringing violence and drugs to American shores — under this Department of Justice, they will face severe consequences for their crimes against this country,' Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. 'We are grateful to Mexico's National Security team for their collaboration in this matter.' The cartel figures were put on planes to the U.S. after the Justice Department agreed not to seek the death penalty against any of the defendants or against any cartel leaders and members sent to the U.S. in February. That transfer was of 29 cartel figures, including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985. 'This transfer is yet another example of what is possible when two governments stand united against violence and impunity,' U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson said in a statement. 'These fugitives will now face justice in U.S. courts, and the citizens of both of our nations will be safer from these common enemies.' The February transfers came as Mexican officials were trying to head off the Trump administration's threat of imposing tariffs on Mexican imports. Late last month, President Donald Trump spoke with Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum and agreed to put off threatened 30% tariffs for another 90 days to allow for negotiations. Sheinbaum has shown a willingness to cooperate more on security than her predecessor, specifically being more aggressive in pursuit of Mexico's cartels. But she has drawn a clear line when it comes to Mexico's sovereignty, rejecting suggestions by Trump and others of intervention by the U.S. military. Also included in the group expelled Tuesday was Servando Gómez Martinez, also known as 'La Tuta,' a former school teacher who became one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords as head of the Knights Templar cartel. He was captured in 2015 and sentenced to 55 years in a Mexican prison in June 2019. Gomez led the quasi-religious criminal group that once exercised absolute control over Michoacan and he liked to appear in interviews and videos. The cartel orchestrated politics, controlled commerce, dictated rules and preached a code of ethics around devotion to God and family, even as it murdered and plundered. Abigael González Valencia is the brother-in-law of CJNG leader Nemesio Rubén 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes, a top target of the U.S. government. Abigael González Valencia was arrested in February 2015 in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco and had been fighting extradition to the United States since then. The U.S. government has offered a reward of up to $15 million for information leading to 'El Mencho's' arrest or conviction. Alongside his two brothers, Abigael González Valencia led 'Los Cuinis,' which financed the the founding and growth of the CJNG, one of the most powerful and dangerous cartels in Mexico. CJNG traffics hundreds of tons of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl into the United States and other countries and is known for extreme violence, murders, torture, and corruption. One of his brothers, José González Valencia, was sentenced in Washington's federal court in June to 30 years in a U.S. prison after pleading guilty to international cocaine trafficking. Jose González Valencia was arrested in 2017 under the first Trump administration at a beach resort in Brazil while vacationing with his family under a fake name.
Politico
5 hours ago
- Politico
Trump Wants to Destroy the Drug Cartels. He May Strengthen Them Instead.
Trump has accused Mexican politicians of being corrupt and 'petrified' of the cartels. It's hard to find anyone serious here who denies these accusations completely. But, setting aside Trump's own alleged corruption, his administration also is actively demolishing tools used to fight such malfeasance globally. That includes dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development and weakening enforcement of anti-corruption laws aimed at companies abroad. While cartels exercise significant control over many parts of Mexico, there are few open displays of their power in the heavily policed megapolis of Mexico City. Still, there are billboards warning that fentanyl kills, and the occasional restaurant with a narco-gangster theme. Some neighborhoods are plastered with photos of Mexicans who have disappeared, possibly due to decades-long cartel violence. Many here who follow the U.S.-Mexico security relationship dismiss Trump's moves against the cartels as performative and aimed at U.S. voters. 'It doesn't matter if it's going to work. It matters if it seems, for his audience, that it's going to work,' a former Mexican security official opined over a cappuccino. He then thought for a moment and added: 'Perhaps he thinks it's going to work. That's even more problematic.' I granted him and several others I spoke to anonymity because the topic was sensitive and physically risky. Unlike traditional terrorist groups, the cartels are not ideological. Their goal is to make money, and they long ago diversified their portfolios beyond drugs into everything from human trafficking to fuel theft. They also have expanded deep into legal markets. Many Mexican firms, such as those attending the Chamber sessions, are now ramping up spending on lawyers, security consultants and people who specialize in vetting supply chains and clients — all so they can at least say they tried to steer clear of the cartels. The Trump crackdown recognizes cartels' financial motive. He has sanctioned several actors, from Mexican banks to a Mexican rapper on allegations of laundering cartel money. Yet on this front, too, Trump sends mixed signals. He has weakened some rules around cryptocurrency, a method of finance cartels are believed to be using more. Then, of course, there's the gun factor. The U.S. government's own studies have found that a huge portion of the firearms used in cartel-related violence in Mexico originate from the United States. Trump and his aides are nonetheless trying to weaken gun laws. (Mexico has suggested U.S. gun manufacturers should face charges of aiding terrorists.) None of this is to say that the cartels aren't feeling pressure. The U.S. and Mexican clampdowns — whether increased border patrols, drone surveillance or Mexican troops battling it out in Sinaloa — have led to many arrests. They may have exacerbated cartel infighting, much of which is linked to some remarkable U.S. detentions of cartel leaders that predate Trump. Reports abound of the cartels being short on money.
Epoch Times
5 hours ago
- Epoch Times
Mexico Extradites 26 Alleged Cartel Members to US
Mexico extradited 26 alleged cartel members to the United States on Aug. 12, including high-ranking members of violent cartels labeled as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government. Mexican Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch stated on X that the extradition was carried out at the request of the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ), which has provided assurances it would not pursue the death penalty for those facing prosecution.
