Latest news with #NemesioOsegueraCervantes
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Guns bought in the US and trafficked to Mexican drug cartels fuel violence in Mexico and the migration crisis
The Mexican security forces tracking Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes – the leader of a deadly drug cartel that has been a top driver of violence in Mexico and narcotic addiction in America – thought they finally had him cornered on May 1, 2015. Four helicopters carrying an arrest team whirled over the mountains near Mexico's southwestern coast toward Cervantes' compound in the town of Villa Purificación, the heart of the infamous Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel. As the lead helicopter pulled within range, bullets from a truck-mounted, military-grade machine gun on the ground struck the engine. Before it reached the ground, the massive helicopter was hit by a pair of rocket-powered grenades. Four soldiers from Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense were killed in the crash. Three more soldiers were killed in the firefight that followed, and another 12 were injured. The engagement was the first known incident of a cartel shooting down a military aircraft in Mexico. The cartel's retaliation for the attempted arrest was swift and brutal. It set fire to trucks, buses, banks, gasoline stations and businesses. The distractions worked. Cervantes, also known as 'El Mencho,' escaped. The Browning machine gun that took down the helicopter was traced to a legal firearm purchase in Oregon made by a U.S. citizen. And a Barrett .50-caliber rifle used in the ambush was traced to a sale in a U.S. gun shop in Texas 4½ years before. Many military-grade weapons like these are trafficked into Mexico from the U.S. each year, aided by loose standards for firearm dealers and gun laws that favor illicit sales. We – a professor of economic development who has been tracking gun trafficking for more than 10 years, and an investigative journalist – spent a year sifting through documents to find the number, origins and characteristics of weapons flowing from the U.S. to Mexico. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – the agency known as ATF tasked with regulating the industry – publishes the number of U.S. guns seized in Mexico and traced back to U.S. dealers, but it doesn't provide an official trafficking estimate. The 2003 Tiahrt Amendments bar the ATF from creating a database of firearm sales and prohibit federal agencies from sharing detailed trace data outside of law enforcement. To estimate weapons flow, we gathered trafficking estimates, including leaked data, previous research, firearm manufacturing totals and the ATF trace data. The model we generated gave us a conservative middle estimate: About 135,000 firearms were trafficked across the border in 2022. In contrast, Ukraine, engaged in a war with Russia, received 40,000 small arms from the United States between January 2020 and April 2024 – an average of 9,000 per year. Our analysis also found: This flow of weapons is connected to the drug trade in the U.S. and enables increased gang violence in Mexico, causing more people to flee across the border. An increase in guns trafficked to Mexico from the U.S. relates to an increase in Mexico's homicide rate. More of the most destructive weapons come from independent gun dealers versus large chain stores – 16 times as many assault-style weapons and 60 times as many sniper rifles. The trafficking flow drives an arms race between criminals and Mexican law enforcement; the U.S. gun industry profits on sales to both. ATF oversight of dealers reduces the likelihood their guns are resold on the illicit market. Since 2008, the U.S. has spent more than US$3 billion to help stabilize Mexico through the rule of law and stem its surges of extreme violence, much of it committed with U.S. firearms. Many programs are funded through the U.S. State Department, which is facing budget cuts, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has sustained deep cuts. Meanwhile, the gun industry and its supporters have undercut these efforts by fighting measures to regulate gun sales. From 2015-2023, 185,000 guns linked to crimes in Mexico were sent to the ATF to be traced – the process of using a firearm's serial number and other characteristics to identify the trail of gun ownership. About 125,000 of those weapons have been traced back to the U.S. Our analyses show that U.S.-Mexico firearms trafficking has dire implications for ordinary Mexicans – and that U.S. regulatory actions can have an enormous impact. This adds to a growing body of research tying U.S.-sold guns to Mexico-based gangs and cartels, illegal drug trafficking, homicide rates, corruption of Mexican officials, illicit financial transactions and migration trends. The Jalisco Nueva Generación cartel is poised to be the biggest player in the drug cartel game. El Mencho, still at large, is one of the most powerful people directing the flow of heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamines into the United States, while orchestrating campaigns of fear, intimidation and displacement in Mexico. The Browning .50-caliber rifle that aided El Mencho's evasion in 2015 was manufactured by a company based in Morgan, Utah, and legally sold to Erik Flores Elortegui, a U.S. citizen. Elortegui fled the country after he was indicted in Oregon for smuggling guns into Mexico and is now at the top of the ATF's most wanted list. He wasn't alone in his gunrunning schemes. According to a grand jury indictment, Elortegui purchased 20 firearms through an accomplice, Robert Allen Cummins, in 2013 and 2014. Cummins was straw purchasing – buying weapons under his name for Elortegui. Before she gave Cummins a 40-month prison sentence in 2017, Judge Ann Aiken admonished him for the pain and suffering his weapons were likely going to cause. She told him to read 'Dreamland,' which chronicles America's opioid crisis and its connection to Mexican drug cartels. In 2021 the ATF teamed up with academics to produce the National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment. It showed that the share of firearms trafficked to Mexico, already the top market for illegal U.S.-to-foreign gun transfer, increased by 20% from 2017 to 2021. Gun sales are strictly regulated within Mexico. But homicides have risen to disturbing heights – three times that of the U.S. – since the lapse of the U.S. assault weapons ban in 2004. Research suggests the two are linked. After their mother was killed by organized crime five years ago, Emylce Ines Espinoza-Alarcon's sister's family migrated to the States, she said. Espinoza-Alarcon, her children and other relatives were more recently driven from their homes by violence. 'As a parent, you try to flee to a different place where they might be safe,' Espinoza-Alarcon said. She said she believes American weapons are to blame, but there 'is nowhere else for us to go.' A 2023 survey found that 88% of the 180,000 Mexican migrants to the U.S. that year were fleeing violence – a flip from 2017 when most were coming for economic opportunity. ATF inspections keep illicit guns in check, our analysis shows. The agency's primary enforcement tools are inspections, violations reports, warning letters and meetings, and, when inspectors find violations that are reckless or willfully endanger the public, revocation notices. But the bureau's 2025 congressional budget request points out that it would need 1,509 field investigators to reach its goal of inspecting each dealer at least once every three years. The ATF is 'focusing on identifying and addressing willful violations,' a spokesperson wrote in a November 2024 email, referring to the zero-tolerance revocation policy the Biden administration put in place in 2021 that dramatically increased the number of revocations. Meanwhile, the ATF announced in April 2025 that it was repealing the revocation policy and reviewing recent rules, including one that clarifies when a gun is a rifle. The webpage listing revocations, including detailed reports, was also removed from the ATF site. This is a condensed version. To learn more about the connections between U.S. gun sales, U.S. regulations, Mexican drug cartels and migration, read the full investigation This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Sean Campbell, The Conversation and Topher L. McDougal, University of San Diego Read more: For opioid addiction, treatment underdosing can lead to fentanyl overdosing – a physician explains Gun trafficking from the US to Mexico: The drug connection US gun trafficking to Mexico: Independent gun shops supply the most dangerous weapons The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Daily Mirror
19-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Fears of new 'super cartel' as notorious violent gangs make terrifying alliance
Members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and 'Los Chapitos' faction of the notorious Sinaloa Cartel are said to have formed an alliance which could provde deadly Fears are growing over a new 'super cartel ' as two of the most violent gangs in Mexico are believed to have formed an alliance - Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the 'Los Chapitos' faction of the Sinaloa Cartel. A video spread on social media showing several armed men with two others appearing to have been captured by the drug cartels. There is no information as to the location the image was taken, however, those who took the video have claimed it shows an alleged alliance between CJNG and 'La Chapiza', a group of armed men who work for the Sinaloa Cartel faction. One of those in the video is heard saying: "The rumours are true, the alliance between the New Generation Cartel and La Chapiza is confirmed." In the video they also refer to Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, who is known as El Mencho, and to one of Joaquín Guzmán Loera's sons who have been identified as leaders of the notorious gangs. As the video draws to a close, the men fire their weapons into the air in celebration. The video appeared online shortly after the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) published its 2025 National Drug Threat Assessment, which included mention on a potential alliance between the notorious gangs. The report stated: "A strategic alliance between the CJNG and Los Chapitos has the potential to expand these groups' territories, resources, firepower, and access to corrupt officials, which could result in a significant shift in the criminal balance of power in Mexico and could serve to increase northbound drug flow and southbound weapons trafficking at the US-Mexico border." It is believed that working together, the two groups are hoping to strengthen their operations and to provide a stronger front against common rivals, particularly the faction led by Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada - a former top leader of the Sinaloa Cartel who was arrested in July 2024. The DEA report explained: "On July 25, 2026, the United States arrested Ismael 'El Mayo' Zambada-Garcia, a co-founder and leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, and Joaquín Guzmán-López, a founding member of the Sinaloa Cartel's Los Chapitos faction, in New Mexico, just outside of El Paso, Texas. "This arrest brought into custody key cartel figures who eluded both US and Mexican law enforcement for years and are considered tow of the principal leaders responsible for the production, trafficking, and distribution of fentanyl throughout the United States. The arrest escalated tensions and infighting between the main two factions of the Sinaloa Cartel (Los Mayos and Los Chapitos), which continues today." Negotiations between CJNG and Los Chapitos are said to have began last year, as representatives met in Guadalajara and Nayarit. It has been reported that as part of the agreement to work together, Jesus Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, one of the Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's sons, would be handed over to the CJNG as a guarantee. The DEA report added: "According to Mexican news sources, CJNG could capitalise on the conflict between the Los Mayos and Los Chapitos factions of the Sinaloa Cartel, essentially by choosing sides in favour of their former rivals, Los Chapitos, against Los Mayos." The potential alliance between the notoriously violent gangs has also raised concerns in Mexico, with experts warning the cartel collaboration could intensify violence in key regions and complicate authorities' efforts to fight drug trafficking. The introductory summary to the DEA's 2025 report states: "Mexican cartels' production, trafficking, and distribution of powerful illicit synthetic drugs, chiefly fentanyl and methamphetamine, represent a dire threat to public health, the rule of law, and national security in the United States. "The Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartels (CJNG), together with their procurement, distribution, and financial support networks stretching across Latin America, China, and other key global nodes, remain the dominant threats for the trafficking of these and other drugs into the United States." The report added that in the 12 months to October 2024, 84,076 American died from a drug overdose according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "underscoring the devastating effect these cartels have on our country." The Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel, along wiht six other criminal organisations, have been designated as foreign terrorist organisations by the United States. In his introduction to the 2025 DEA report, Acting Administrator Robert Murphy wrote that these groups are "the primary groups oroducing the illicit synthetic drugs driving US drug poisoning deaths and trafficking these drugs into the United States." He wrote: "The cartels are not only fuelling the drug poisoning deaths in the United States, but also committing egregious acts of violence, threatening the security and stability of our partners across the Western Hemisphere."
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Los Alegres del Barranco Accused of Glorifying Drug Trafficking by Jalisco State Prosecutor's Office
Mexican band Los Alegres del Barranco has been charged by the Fiscalía del Estado de Jalisco (Jalisco State Prosecutor's Office) for allegedly advocating crime. Authorities in the Mexican state are investigating the band after projecting images of a criminal leader while performing the song 'El del Palenque' during a concert on 29 March at an auditorium of the University of Guadalajara. Now, a judge will determine whether or not to initiate legal proceedings against the members of the group, their legal representative and the promoter of their concerts in a hearing scheduled for Monday (May 12), which would mark a precedent in regional Mexican music. More from Billboard 'The members of a musical group that showed images referencing a figure from organized crime during a concert in Zapopan have been formally charged in a criminal court today for allegedly promoting criminal activity,' read a statement from the Jalisco Prosecutor's Office on Tuesday (May 6) shared with Billboard Español. 'Similarly, charges were also brought against the group's manager and the promoter of their concerts. According to the statement, the judge imposed precautionary measures on the four members of the band, their manager and the promoter, meaning they are not allowed to leave Jalisco. Additionally, they will have to pay a bond of 1.8 million pesos (about $92,000), which amounts to 300,000 pesos per person. Article 142 of the Jalisco Penal Code states that publicly inciting the commission of a crime or glorifying it — or any vice — can be punishable by up to six months in prison. Experts consulted by Billboard Español note that since this type of penalty is less than four years, it can potentially be served outside of prison if the judge allows it. The group and their representatives chose not to make any statements during a hearing on Tuesday, according to the statement. Billboard Español has reached out to the band's representatives for comment but has not received a response at time of publication. The Jalisco State Prosecutor's Office confirmed to Billboard Español that three open investigations into Los Alegres del Barranco for allegedly advocating crime. The first one corresponds to the investigation against them for projecting images of the leader of the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias 'El Mencho,' during their concert on March 29. This fact even caused the United States to revoke the work and tourist visas of its members, as announced on April 1 by the U.S. Undersecretary of State, Christopher Landau, in a post on X. The second investigation was opened after, on May 3, the group allegedly projected on screens during their show the lyrics of the controversial corrido 'El del Palenque,' which alludes to the aforementioned drug lord. The third folder corresponds to another presentation, on May 4, in which the group allegedly incurred in similar acts, in the municipality of Tequila, according to a press release from the Jalisco State Prosecutor's Office on May 5. The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, said on Wednesday (May 7) that 'it was the decision' of the Jalisco State Prosecutor's Office to prosecute the members of Los Alegres del Barranco for allegedly advocating crime, and reiterated that her government is not in favor of banning the narcocorrido genre. 'My position is that it should not be banned, but that other music should be promoted. Rather than prohibiting, it is more important to educate, guide and encourage people and young people to stop listening to that music,' said the Mexican president during her morning press conference. The controversy over Los Alegres del Barranco's alleged homage to the drug trafficker comes in the wake of the debate over how the cartel founded in Jalisco uses clandestine ranches to recruit people to the criminal group through deceitful job offers, as reported by federal authorities and the media. This follows the discovery of the Izaguirre Ranch in the municipality of Teuchitlán, where acts of torture and murder were allegedly committed, as denounced by the Guerreros Buscadores collective in early March. Ten (out of 32) states in Mexico have implemented several new bans against narcocorridos or any expression that advocates crime, without it being a federal law. Best of Billboard Sign up for Billboard's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mexican corrido band Los Alegres del Barranco had U.S. visas canceled over cartel imagery
The U.S. State Department dropped the work and tourist visas of the members of the Mexican corrido band Los Alegres del Barranco after the group displayed photos of drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes at its concert in Guadalajara, Mexico. During their March 29 show at the University of Guadalajara, the band put an illustrated depiction of Cervantes — a key player in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) — on a mega-screen while playing their song "El Dueño del Palenque." Videos of the incident were captured on social media. The State Department's actions terminated the band's plans to tour in the U.S., which would have begun April 4 in Tulsa, Okla., and included a May 25 stop in L.A. County at the Pico Rivera Sports Arena. Read more: Del Records CEO found guilty after doing business with cartel-linked concert promoter On Tuesday, Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of State, confirmed the report on X. 'I'm a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn't mean that expression should be free of consequences,' Landau said in his post. 'A Mexican band, Los Alegres del Barranco, portrayed images glorifying drug kingpin 'El Mencho' — head of the grotesquely violent CJNG cartel — at a recent concert in Mexico," he wrote. "I'm pleased to announce that the State Department has revoked the band members' work and tourism visas. In the Trump Administration, we take seriously our responsibility over foreigners' access to our country. The last thing we need is a welcome mat for people who extol criminals and terrorists.' A month prior to Landau's announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that the State Department designated eight cartels and transnational organizations — including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel — as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Criticism of Los Alegres del Barranco came from both sides of the border, as there has been increased public outcry in Mexico about the praise found for crime bosses in regional Mexican music. One of the vocal critics of the band's actions was Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum. Read more: Trial of reputed Mexican cartel leader's son offers cautionary tale for 'narco juniors' 'That shouldn't happen. It's not right,' Sheinbaum said of the incident during a March 31 press conference. "You can't apologize for violence nor for criminal groups." The president also called for there to be an investigation of what occurred at the concert. But this isn't the first time CJNG has been associated with regional Mexican artists. Last month, a federal jury convicted the chief executive of Del Records, a Bell Gardens-based label that produces música Mexicana, of conspiring to violate the Kingpin Statute that prohibits U.S. residents and companies from doing business with known drug traffickers and their associates. In April 2018, Ángel Del Villar and his entertainment agency worked with Jesús Pérez Alvear, a Guadalajara-based music promoter who had been sanctioned by the Treasury Department, according to evidence presented in court. Treasury Department officials said at the time that Pérez had laundered drug money for the CJNG and an affiliated trafficking group, Los Cuinis. Read more: Gerardo Ortiz testifies in court to performing cartel-linked shows while signed to Del Records Pérez was accused of commingling the traffickers' profits with legitimate revenue from ticket and refreshment sales. He also promoted singers of narcocorridos, ballads that critics say 'glorify' traffickers and their crimes, Treasury officials stated. Pérez had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to do business with sanctioned people connected to drug trafficking. He promoted concerts for Del Entertainment in Mexico until March 2019. He was murdered in Mexico in December 2024. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Del Villar and Del Entertainment willfully did business with Pérez 'by continuing to have a Del Entertainment musical artist perform at concerts in which Pérez and Del Entertainment had a financial interest.' In a statement issued by email, Del Villar's legal team said they strongly disagree with the March 27 verdict and plan to appeal. Del Villar is set to be sentenced Aug. 15 and faces up to 30 years in prison on each count. Del Entertainment will face a sentence of five years of probation and a fine of $10 million for each count. Times' staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report. Get our Latinx Files newsletter for stories that capture the complexity of our communities. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Mexican corrido band sees U.S. visas canceled after displaying cartel photos
The U.S. State Department dropped the work and tourist visas of the members of the Mexican corrido band Los Alegres del Barranco after the group displayed photos of drug lord Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes at its concert in Guadalajara, Mexico. During their March 29 show at the University of Guadalajara, the band put an illustrated depiction of Cervantes — a key player in the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) — on a mega-screen while playing their song 'El Dueño del Palenque.' Videos of the incident were captured on social media. The State Department's actions terminated the band's plans to tour in the U.S., which would have begun April 4 in Tulsa, Okla., and included a May 25 stop in L.A. County at the Pico Rivera Sports Arena. On Tuesday, Christopher Landau, the deputy secretary of State, confirmed the report on X. 'I'm a firm believer in freedom of expression, but that doesn't mean that expression should be free of consequences,' Landau said in his post. 'A Mexican band, Los Alegres del Barranco, portrayed images glorifying drug kingpin 'El Mencho' — head of the grotesquely violent CJNG cartel — at a recent concert in Mexico,' he wrote. 'I'm pleased to announce that the State Department has revoked the band members' work and tourism visas. In the Trump Administration, we take seriously our responsibility over foreigners' access to our country. The last thing we need is a welcome mat for people who extol criminals and terrorists.' A month prior to Landau's announcement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that the State Department designated eight cartels and transnational organizations — including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel — as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Criticism of Los Alegres del Barranco came from both sides of the border, as there has been increased public outcry in Mexico about the praise found for crime bosses in regional Mexican music. One of the vocal critics of the band's actions was Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum. 'That shouldn't happen. It's not right,' Sheinbaum said of the incident during a March 31 press conference. 'You can't apologize for violence nor for criminal groups.' The president also called for there to be an investigation of what occurred at the concert. But this isn't the first time CJNG has been associated with regional Mexican artists. Last month, a federal jury convicted the chief executive of Del Records, a Bell Gardens-based label that produces música Mexicana, of conspiring to violate the Kingpin Statute that prohibits U.S. residents and companies from doing business with known drug traffickers and their associates. In April 2018, Ángel Del Villar and his entertainment agency worked with Jesús Pérez Alvear, a Guadalajara-based music promoter who had been sanctioned by the Treasury Department, according to evidence presented in court. Treasury Department officials said at the time that Pérez had laundered drug money for the CJNG and an affiliated trafficking group, Los Cuinis. Pérez was accused of commingling the traffickers' profits with legitimate revenue from ticket and refreshment sales. He also promoted singers of narcocorridos, ballads that critics say 'glorify' traffickers and their crimes, Treasury officials stated. Pérez had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to do business with sanctioned people connected to drug trafficking. He promoted concerts for Del Entertainment in Mexico until March 2019. He was murdered in Mexico in December 2024. According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Del Villar and Del Entertainment willfully did business with Pérez 'by continuing to have a Del Entertainment musical artist perform at concerts in which Pérez and Del Entertainment had a financial interest.' In a statement issued by email, Del Villar's legal team said they strongly disagree with the March 27 verdict and plan to appeal. Del Villar is set to be sentenced Aug. 15 and faces up to 30 years in prison on each count. Del Entertainment will face a sentence of five years of probation and a fine of $10 million for each count. Times' staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.
