Latest news with #DrugEnforcementAdministration
Metro
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Metro
Trump offers 'historic' $50,000,000 reward for arrest of Venezuela's dictator
The Trump administration has doubled its reward to $50million for the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, deeming him 'one of the largest narco traffickers in the world'. US Attorney General Pam Bondi provided a laundry list of accusations against Maduro in announcing the Justice Department and State Department's 'historic' bounty for him on Thursday. The Drug Enforcement Administration just seized 30 tons of cocaine tied to Maduro and his associates, with nearly seven tons linked to the dictator himself 'which represents a primary source of income for the deadly cartels based in Venezuela and Mexico', said Bondi in a video shared on X. Maduro uses terrorist organizations including Sinaloa, Cartel of the Suns and Tren de Aragua 'to bring deadly drugs and violence into our country', she said. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'Under President Trump's leadership, Maduro will not escape justice and he will be held accountable for his despicable crimes,' Bondi declared. The Justice Department has seized more than $700million in assets traced back to Maduro, as well as two private jets and nine vehicle. 'Yet Maduro's reign of terror continues,' the attorney general said. Cocaine that is part of Maduro's drug smuggling scheme often is laced with fentanyl and has caused 'the loss and destruction of countless American lives', Bondi said. Anyone with information leading to busting Maduro should contact the Drug Enforcement Administration. Maduro has remained Venezuela's leader even though the US, EU and some Latin American countries determined that he lost his reelection bid last year. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil called the new reward 'pathetic' and a 'crude political propaganda operation'. He hit back at Bondi by bringing up her controversial about-face from saying that Jeffrey Epstein's 'client list' was on her desk waiting to be released, to saying no such incriminating files exist. More Trending 'We're not surprised, coming from whom it comes from,' stated Gil. 'The same one who promised a nonexistent 'secret list' of Epstein and who wallows in scandals for political favors. 'Her show is a joke, a desperate distraction from her own misery.' Maduro was indicted in 2020, during President Donald Trump's first term, in Manhattan federal court on narco-terrorism and cocaine importation conspiracy charges. The US set a reward for him at $15million, and the Biden administration upped it to $25million. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: The US Air Force is buying two Tesla Cybertrucks to learn how to destroy them MORE: Three more 9/11 victims identified 24 years later after DNA breakthrough MORE: Man 'raped friend because she wouldn't feed him her breast milk'
Time of India
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Donald Trump: Washington lockdown? Trump orders federal law enforcement to patrol DC
US: President Donald Trump has ordered an unspecified number of federal law enforcement agents to be deployed in Washington, D.C., days after threatening a federal takeover of the city and claiming that crime there was "totally out of control." Washington's crime rates -- ranging from violent crime to thefts and burglaries -- have been falling significantly, but the order follows the president's effort to paint the nation's capital as rife with violent crime. Trump highlighted the beating this week of a prominent Department of Government Efficiency employee by a mob of young assailants in an attempted carjacking, according to local police. "If D.C. doesn't get its act together," Trump wrote on social media Tuesday, "we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City." The deployment, starting Friday at 12:01 a.m., would include law enforcement officers from a wide swath of agencies across the federal government. They include: Immigration police tasked with deportations, the FBI, U.S. marshals, the Drug Enforcement Administration and 12 other federal agencies.
New York Times
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Trump Orders Surge of Law Enforcement in Washington, D.C.
President Trump has ordered an unspecified number of federal law enforcement agents to be deployed in Washington, D.C., days after threatening a federal takeover of the city and claiming that crime there was 'totally out of control.' Washington's crime rates — ranging from violent crime to thefts and burglaries — have been falling significantly, but the order follows the president's effort to paint the nation's capital as rife with violent crime. Mr. Trump highlighted the beating earlier this week of a prominent Department of Government Efficiency employee by a mob of young assailants in an attempted carjacking, according to local police. 'If D.C. doesn't get its act together,' Mr. Trump wrote on social media on Tuesday, 'we will have no choice but to take Federal control of the City.' The deployment, starting Friday at 12:01 a.m., would include law enforcement officers from a wide swath of agencies across the federal government. They include: Immigration police tasked with deportations, the F.B.I., U.S. marshals, the Drug Enforcement Administration and twelve other federal agencies. It is unclear how many agents will be part of the surge and in what parts of the city. A statement from the White House said that the deployment 'will be focused on high traffic tourist areas and other known hotspots,' a category that could be broadly interpreted to include much of the city. The White House also said that officers 'will be identified, in marked units, and highly visible,' an apparent reference to concerns about the aggressive tactics of masked immigration police who have been filmed swarming people on the street, arresting them with zip ties and bundling them into unmarked vehicles. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Sun
4 days ago
- The Sun
US drops death penalty for Mexican drug lords Caro Quintero, Zambada
NEW YORK: The U.S. Justice Department said on Tuesday it will not seek the death penalty for accused Mexican drug traffickers Rafael Caro Quintero and Ismael Zambada despite allegations of deep ties to cartel violence. Caro Quintero was extradited to the U.S. in February alongside 28 other suspected cartel members as part of the biggest handover by Mexico of drug trafficking suspects in 10 years. The septuagenarian had spent decades in prison in Mexico for the murder of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent. His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Zambada, known as El Mayo, is accused of co-founding the Sinaloa Cartel alongside convicted drug kingpin Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman. He was arrested last year alongside Joaquin Guzman Lopez, a son of his former partner, at a small airport near El Paso, Texas. Both Caro Quintero and Zambada, also in his 70s, have pleaded not guilty to U.S. drug trafficking charges. Zambada's lawyer, Frank Perez, told Reuters in February that his client would be willing to plead guilty in a deal that spared him the death penalty. On Tuesday, Perez said he was working with the government to resolve Zambada's case. 'We welcome the government's decision not to pursue the death penalty against our client,' Perez said. 'This marks an important step toward achieving a fair and just resolution.' - Reuters
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
U.S. declines to pursue death penalty against trio of accused Mexican cartel kingpins
Federal authorities in the United States revealed Tuesday that they will not seek the death penalty against three reputed Mexican drug cartel leaders, including an alleged former partner of the infamous 'El Chapo' and the man accused of orchestrating the killing of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent. Court filings showed decisions handed down in the trio of prosecutions, all being held in Brooklyn, N.Y. The cases involve drug and conspiracy charges against Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada, 75, charged with running a powerful faction of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel; Rafael Caro Quintero, 72, who allegedly masterminded the DEA agent's torture and murder in 1985; and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, 62, also known as El Viceroy, who is under indictment as the ex-boss of the Juarez cartel. Prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York filed a letter in each case 'to inform the Court and the defense that the Attorney General has authorized and directed this Office not to seek the death penalty.' The decision comes despite calls by President Trump use capital punishment against drug traffickers and the U.S. government ratcheting up pressure against Mexico to dismantle organized crime groups and to staunch the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs across the border. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It's rare for the death penalty to be in play against high-level Mexican cartel figures. Mexico long ago abolished capital punishment and typically extradites its citizens on the condition they are spared death. In Zambada's case, the standard restrictions did not apply because he was not extradited. Zambada was brought to the U.S. last July by a son of his longtime associate, Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán. Zambada alleges he was ambushed and kidnapped in Sinaloa by Joaquín Guzmán López, who forced him onto an airplane bound for a small airport outside El Paso, Texas. Zambada has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and remains jailed in Brooklyn while his case proceeds. A court filing in June said prosecutors and the defense had 'discussed the potential for a resolution short of trial,' suggesting plea negotiations are underway. Frank Perez, the lawyer representing Zambada, issued a statement Tuesday to The Times that said: 'We welcome the government's decision not to pursue the death penalty against our client. This marks an important step toward achieving a fair and just resolution.' Federal authorities announced in May that Guzmán López, 39, an accused leader of the Sinaloa cartel faction known as 'Los Chapitos,' would also not face the death penalty. He faces an array of drug smuggling and conspiracy charges in a case pending before the federal court in Chicago. Another son of El Chapo, Ovidio Guzmán López, 35, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charge last month in Chicago. Court filings show he has agreed to cooperate with U.S. authorities in other investigations. Caro Quintero and Carrillo Fuentes were two of the biggest names among a group of 29 men handed over by Mexico to the U.S. in February. The unusual mass transfer was conducted outside the typical extradition process, which left open the possibility of the death penalty. Reputed to be a founding member of Mexico's powerful Guadalajara cartel in the 1980s, Caro Quintero is allegedly responsible for the brutal slaying of DEA agent Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena 40 years ago. The killing, portrayed on the Netlfix show 'Narcos: Mexico' and recounted in many books and documentaries, led to a fierce response by U.S. authorities, but Caro Quintero managed to elude justice for decades. Getting him on U.S. soil was portrayed a major victory by Trump administration officials. Derek Maltz, the DEA chief in February, said in a statement that Caro Quintero had 'unleashed violence, destruction, and death across the United States and Mexico, has spent four decades atop DEA's most wanted fugitives list.' Carrillo Fuentes is perhaps best known as the younger brother of another Mexican drug trafficker, Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the legendary 'Lord of the Skies,' who died in 1997. Once close to El Chapo, El Mayo and other Sinaloa cartel leaders, the younger Carrillo Funtes split off to form his own cartel in the city of Juárez, triggering years of bloody cartel warfare. Kenneth J. Montgomery, the lawyer for Carrillo Fuentes, said Tuesday his client was 'extremely grateful' for the government's decision not to seek the death penalty.'I thought it was the right decision,' he said. 'In a civilized society, I don't think the death penalty should ever be an option.' Trump has been an ardent supporter of capital punishment. In January, he signed an order that directs the attorney general to 'take all necessary and lawful action' to ensure that states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions. Trump's order directed the attorney general to pursue the death penalty in cases that involve the killing of law enforcement officers, among other factors. For years, Trump has loudly called for executing convicted drug traffickers. He reiterated the call for executions again in 2022 when announcing his intent to run again for president. 'We're going to be asking [that] everyone who sells drugs, gets caught selling drugs, to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts,' Trump said. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi lifted a moratorium on federal executions in February, reversing a policy that began under the Biden administration. In April, Bondi announced intentions to seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the man charged with assassinating a UnitedHealthcare executive in New York City. Bonnie Klapper, a former federal narcotics prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York, reacted with surprise upon learning that the Trump administration had decided not to pursue capital cases against the accused kingpins, particularly Caro Quintero. Klapper, who is now a defense attorney, speculated that Mexico is strongly opposed to executions of its citizens and officials may have exerted diplomatic pressure to spare the lives of the three men, perhaps offering to send more kingpins in the future. 'While my initial reaction is one of shock given this administration's embrace of the death penalty, perhaps there's conversations taking place behind the scenes in which Mexico has said, 'If you want more of these, you can't ask to kill any of our citizens.''
