Latest news with #SinaloaCartel
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
She defended drug lord El Chapo - now, she's running for office
As drivers sit in traffic near the Bridge of the Americas connecting Mexico with the USA, Silvia Delgado weaves between the cars handing out leaflets. "I'm standing for penal judge," she says brightly. "Vote for number 12 on the ballot papers!" Most happily wind down their windows and accept a flyer from her. But in Sunday's rather unique election – the first of two votes by which Mexicans will choose the country's entire judiciary by direct ballot – Silvia Delgado is not an ordinary candidate. Conspicuously absent from the short biography on her pamphlets is the name of her best-known client: she was the defence lawyer for the notorious drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán. Her critics say her past defending the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel should disqualify her from standing as a judge. She gives that idea short shrift. "Why should it? For doing my job?" she retorts, her heckles immediately raised at any suggestion of a conflict of interest. "For defending people's individual guarantees? For mounting an adequate technical defence for a human being? Why should that make me illegitimate?" she asks. Silvia Delgado has not been convicted of any crime, is not facing any charges and is not under investigation – whether over her links to El Chapo or anything else. But a leading human rights and transparency organisation in Mexico called Defensorxs has included her in a list of 19 "high risk candidates" in the election. As well as Ms Delgado, the list includes a candidate with a drug trafficking conviction and another facing accusations of orchestrating violence against journalists. The director of Defensorxs, Miguel Alfonso Meza, believes the so-called "high risk candidates" are a danger to the legitimacy of Mexico's justice system: "Someone that has already worked with a cartel, it is very difficult that they get out, even if it was only as a lawyer. It's not even about whether she's a good person or a bad person," says Mr Meza, referring to Silvia Delgado. "The Sinaloa Cartel is not only 'El Chapo' Guzman. It is a company that has criminal and economic interests which are being resolved in the justice system. The cartel could pressure her to show loyalty because she has already been their employee." Silvia Delgado visibly stiffens at the mention of Defensorxs and Miguel Alfonso Meza. "It's completely stupid," she bristles, claiming she has challenged them to "dig into her past as much as they like". She also dismisses their main accusation that she was paid with drug money and could be compromised if she is elected judge. "How can you prove that? I received a payment which was the same as any normal monthly payment which was paid to me by lawyers, members of his legal team. I'm not his daughter or his sister or anything. I'm a professional." Ms Delgado is competing for one of more than 7,500 judicial position up for grabs – from local magistrates to all nine Supreme Court justices. While it was under discussion, the judicial reform prompted widespread protests by law students and a strike by workers in the legal system. Its critics maintain that electing every judge in Mexico amounts to the politicisation of the country's justice system. "Of course, it's a political attack [on the judiciary]," says Miguel Alfonso Meza. "Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador didn't like to have constraints from the judicial power. When the pressure became too great and the constraints too tight, the only solution they found was to remove all the judges in the country," he adds. This reform was passed before President Claudia Sheinbaum was sworn in, but she is a firm supporter of it and polls suggest it has broad approval among the electorate too. Supporters point out that the United States, Switzerland and Bolivia elect many of their judges. But Mexico will become the first country in the world to elect all of them. Markets remain unconvinced with investors fearful of the prospect of the ruling party controlling the presidency, the legislative branch and the judiciary. Miguel Alfonso Meza believes that problems will arise from "the agreements and negotiations judges have to make with political actors… in order to get the support they need to win the elections". One of the 64 candidates seeking a seat on the Supreme Court is Olivia Aguirre Bonilla. Also from Ciudad Juárez, her legal background is in human rights law and as an activist against gender-based violence in the notoriously dangerous border city. Like all the candidates, Ms Aguirre Bonilla has had to pay for her campaign out of her own pocket – candidates are banned from accepting public or private funding and forbidden from purchasing advertising spots. As such, she's primarily used social media to push out her 6-point plan from clamping down on exorbitant salaries to opening the Supreme Court hearings to the public. While she acknowledges the criticisms over the potential politicisation of Mexico's justice system, Aguirre Bonilla believes the vote is an opportunity for meaningful change of a collapsed, corrupted and nepotistic judiciary. "I think all the citizens in Mexico are politicised, and we're all part of public life," she says. "The difference here is that our 'untouchable' legal system – and it was untouchable because it was controlled by the elites, by privilege – for the first time in history will be voted in. It will be democratised through the popular vote." Many people in the judiciary were there through influence and familial connections, Aguirre Bonilla argues, and it lacks the legitimacy of the executive and legislative branches. "This vote will grant the justice system true independence as it's not chosen by the President of the Republic but elected by the people of Mexico to represent them." So far, the arguments over constitutionality and legitimacy, over the process and the candidates have been bitter and fierce. Now all eyes turn to the polling stations, particularly on the turnout and abstention rates as indicators of Mexicans' backing for the reform. As for Silvia Delgado, the woman who defended Mexico's most wanted drug lord, she just hopes the people of Ciudad Juárez will respect her work enough to allow her to sit in judgement of other criminals who are brought before her. 'Severe blow' to Sinaloa cartel as security chief of El Chapo's son arrested Murder, drugs and football on the Mexican border Five musicians murdered in suspected Mexican cartel killing
United News of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- United News of India
Mexico demands explanation on U.S. deal with Mexican drug trafficker
Mexico City, May 30 (UNI) Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Thursday questioned the U.S. government for striking plea deals with Damaso Lopez Serrano, a member of a cartel the United States itself has labelled as "Foreign Terrorist Organisation." At a daily morning press conference, Sheinbaum spoke of the apparent contradiction and demanded an explanation. "The United States government recently issued a decree calling some organised crime organisations terrorists. They have said on several occasions that they do not negotiate with these organisations," she said. "They need to explain why agreements are reached in these cases." U.S. authorities has reached a plea agreement with Damaso Lopez Serrano, alias "El Mini Lic," who pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to drug trafficking charges. He is considered a former high-ranking figure within the Sinaloa Cartel, according to Mexican media. In February, the United States has designated Sinaloa Cartel, along with several other international cartels and transnational organisations, as "Foreign Terrorist Organisations" and "Specially Designated Global Terrorists." Lopez Serrano was arrested in 2017 on charges of trafficking cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. He was arrested again last year, pleading guilty to new drug trafficking-related charges. UNI XINHUA ARN
AU Financial Review
2 days ago
- AU Financial Review
‘I was very confident': Meet Nuno Matos, ANZ's Mr fix it
Three years after HSBC was hit with a $US1.9 billion fine by the US Justice Department for helping drug gangs including the Sinaloa Cartel to launder hundreds of millions of dollars, Nuno Matos was sent to Mexico to clean up the scandal once and for all. HSBC's regulatory rap sheet also included infractions for banking Russian gangsters, moving funds for those linked to terrorist groups Al-Qaeda and Hezbollah, and helping countries like Iran, Sudan and North Korea evade sanctions.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
El Chapo's son Guzman Lopez would not get death penalty if convicted, US says
By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. will not seek the death penalty for a son of convicted Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, if he is convicted on U.S. drug trafficking charges of his own, prosecutors said in a court filing. In a court filing dated May 23, federal prosecutors in Chicago did not provide any explanation of the decision or any further details. Guzman Lopez was indicted in 2023 along with three of his brothers - known as the "Chapitos," or little Chapos - on U.S. drug trafficking and money laundering charges involving their assumption of leadership of their father's Sinaloa Cartel after his 2017 extradition to the United States. Guzman Lopez has pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, said in a statement, "We're obviously pleased with the decision as it's the correct one. Joaquin and I are looking forward to resolving the charges against him." Guzman Lopez is next due to appear in federal court in Chicago on June 2. One of Guzman Lopez's brothers, Ovidio Guzman, is expected to plead guilty to drug trafficking charges against him at a court hearing in Chicago on July 9, court records showed earlier this month. Guzman was extradited to the U.S. in 2023 and had originally pleaded not guilty to fentanyl trafficking charges. Guzman Lopez was taken into U.S. custody in a dramatic July 2024 arrest alongside alleged Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada on a New Mexico airfield. The operation was a major coup for U.S. law enforcement. Zambada has also pleaded not guilty. In February, his lawyer told Reuters he would be willing to plead guilty if prosecutors agreed to spare him the death penalty. The elder Guzman is serving a life sentence at a maximum security prison in Colorado after his 2019 drug trafficking conviction.
Fox News
3 days ago
- General
- Fox News
DHS video honors Marine killed by Mexican cartel, touts Trump's crackdown on 'terrorists'
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security released a video honoring late Marine Corps veteran Nicholas Quets and highlighting his death at the hands of the Sinaloa Cartel, which the department says it is taking "decisive action" to address. "Drug cartels are being called what they truly are: foreign terrorist organizations," the two-and-a-half-minute video states before showing an interview with retired Army Lt. Col. Warren D. Quotes Jr. and Patricia Quets, whose son Nicholas was shot and killed at a Sinaloa Cartel checkpoint on his way to Rocky Point, Mexico, with friends on Oct. 18, 2024. The cartel members attempted to steal Quets' pickup truck before shooting him in the back through the heart, ending his life at 31 years old. "I felt validated and vindicated," Quets' father says in the video, explaining how Trump spoke with him about his son's death after receiving no feedback from the Biden administration or the Kamala Harris campaign. "Designating all those organizations as foreign terrorist organizations, it makes things safer for us and puts them on the defensive. We want to send a message that targeting Americans anywhere has legal consequences. I thank President Trump and [DHS] Secretary [Kristi] Noem for dedicating their lives to protecting others and for being good stewards of the American taxpayers' dollars, efforts and resources." Quets' mother says in the video, "I want to thank everybody for putting this together and giving us a voice." In a press release, DHS outlined the ways it has "taken decisive action to dismantle drug cartels," including the president signing an executive order on his first day in office to "designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations," giving law enforcement the ability to "crack down" on sex trafficking operations from the cartels in the United States. Additionally, on what would have been Quets' 32nd birthday, the Treasury Department announced sanctions on six individuals and seven entities that were allegedly operating a money-laundering scheme that supported the Sinaloa Cartel. "Nicholas Quets was a patriot who served our country honorably and was killed by these cartel cowards who shot him in the back. President Trump and Secretary Noem are honoring his memory by dismantling the Sinaloa cartel and other drug cartels that profit from trafficking, violence, and lawlessness," Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. "President Trump's strong leadership and these arrests and prosecutions of scum-of-the-earth cartel leaders are delivering results. The days of unchecked cartel violence are over." In an interview with Fox News Digital leading up to the presidential election, Quets' father said, "I do believe in Donald Trump as a man of his word – not the TV character, not the billionaire – but a person who I looked at face to face and talked with." "America got a little bit weaker. My family was destroyed, but America got a little bit weaker. Mexico got a little bit weaker. Those cartels got a little bit stronger. And the only way to reverse that is to go after these people."
