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Saudi Gazette
2 days ago
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
Sheinbaum says Mexico has no proof of alleged Maduro ties to Sinaloa Cartel
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Saturday her government has no evidence to support US claims linking Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to the powerful Sinaloa Cartel. The allegations, tying Maduro to Mexico's largest drug cartel and the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua gang, were recently raised by the administration of US President Donald Trump. "This is the first time we've heard about this issue. There is no investigation from Mexico related to it," Sheinbaum told reporters. "As we always say, if they have any proof, let them show it. We have no evidence related to that." US Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday announced the doubling of a reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest, from $25 million to $50 million, calling him 'one of the largest narco-traffickers in the world and a threat to our national security.' The US has long accused Maduro of running a 'narco-state' and facilitating cocaine shipments to North America through alliances with transnational criminal organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel. Maduro has denied the allegations, dismissing them as politically motivated. — Agencies
Fox News
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
US accuses Venezuelan regime of narco-terrorism over alliances with Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa Cartel
The U.S. government has named the Cartel de los Soles, a Venezuela-based criminal group led by President Nicolás Maduro, a global terrorist organization. Cartel de los Soles, or Cartel of the Suns, is being sanctioned by the U.S. for providing support to foreign terrorist organizations, including the violent Tren de Aragua and Sinaloa Cartel, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. "Today's action further exposes the illegitimate Maduro regime's facilitation of narco-terrorism through terrorist groups like Cartel de los Soles," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. "The Treasury Department will continue to execute on President Donald Trump's pledge to put America First by cracking down on violent organizations, including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel and their facilitators, like Cartel de los Soles." Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gang, is involved in a range of criminal activities, including human smuggling and the illicit drug trade. The Sinaloa Cartel, a violent and powerful Mexican cartel, is responsible for trafficking drugs like fentanyl into the U.S., according to the Treasury Department. In an X post, the Drug Enforcement Administration wrote that it is seeking information leading to the arrests and convictions of Maduro, Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace Diosdado Cabello Rondón and Minister of Defense Vladimir Padrino López. In January, the U.S. increased an reward to $25 million for information leading to Maduro's arrest and/or conviction. The U.S. has not recognized Maduro as the Venezuelan president since 2019. In May, the U.S. advised citizens to avoid traveling to Venezuela and its borders. According to the U.S. Department of State, citizens were warned not to travel to Venezuela due to severe risks, including wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest and poor health infrastructure.
Newsweek
26-07-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Cartel 'Headed By Maduro' Added To US Terrorist List
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The U.S. has designed the Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist group and said it is headed by the president of the South American country, Nicolás Maduro. The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced it had sanctioned the cartel as a specially designated global terrorist organization. The OFAC statement said the group supports foreign terrorist organizations threatening the peace and security of the United States, namely Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel. Newsweek has contacted the Venezuelan foreign ministry for comment. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro celebrates the results of the parliamentary and regional elections at the Bolivar square in Caracas on May 25, 2025. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro celebrates the results of the parliamentary and regional elections at the Bolivar square in Caracas on May 25, It Matters The Trump administration has pledged to crack down on drug trafficking, targeting in particular Latin American gangs. Around 250 Venezuelans were deported from the U.S. to a prison in El Salvador after President Donald Trump invoked a centuries old law intended for use in times of war, due to the "invasion" of alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang named in OFAC's statement. The men were returned in a deal with the U.S. that saw the release of 10 Americans detained in Venezuela. The ruling on Cartel de los Soles may add pressure on Caracas and the regime of Maduro which the U.S. considers illegitimate, having already issued an outstanding order for his capture. What To Know In a statement on Friday, OFAC said it had sanctioned the Cartel de los Soles, which it described as a Venezuela-based criminal group headed by Maduro and other high-ranking Venezuelan individuals in his regime. The statement said the group provides support to foreign terrorist organizations threatening the peace and security of the United States, namely Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel—one of Mexico's most powerful groups that traffics drugs into the U.S. Thank you, @POTUS, @SecRubio, and @SecScottBessent, for granting my request to designate Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization. Americans are safer now that it's harder for this disgusting gang to terrorize our country by flooding it with deadly drugs. Read more:… — Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) July 26, 2025 The statement said that Tren de Aragua was involved in the illicit drug trade, human smuggling and trafficking, extortion, sexual exploitation of women and children, and money laundering, among other criminal activities. On February 20, 2025, the State Department designated both Tren de Aragua and the Sinaloa Cartel as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. It comes after the U.S. restored Chevron Corp.'s ability to pump oil in Venezuela, reversing an earlier decision when the Trump administration was seeking to exert more pressure on Maduro's regime. What People Are Saying Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in a statement: "The Treasury Department will continue to execute on President Trump's pledge to put America First by cracking down on violent organizations including Tren de Aragua, the Sinaloa Cartel, and their facilitators, like Cartel de los Soles." Senator Rick Scott, (R-FL) on X: "Americans are safer now that it's harder for this disgusting gang to terrorize our country by flooding it with deadly drugs." What Happens Next The OFAC ruling will block all property and interests linked to Cartel de los Soles and was welcomed by Florida Senator Rick Scott who posted on X that "Americans are safer now." It could also add to international pressure against Maduro.
Miami Herald
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
U.S. Sanctions bosses of Venezuela's Tren de Aragua gang, citing threat to region
In a new blow to one of Latin America's most feared criminal syndicates, the U.S. Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions against Héctor 'Niño' Guerrero and five other top figures in Tren de Aragua, a Venezuela-based gang now designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The gang, which originated inside a Venezuelan prison, has rapidly grown into a powerful transnational criminal network involved in drug trafficking, extortion, migrant smuggling and sexual exploitation, with operations reaching key areas of the United States, including South Florida. The group has been linked to human trafficking networks that move migrants north through Central America and Mexico, with stops in border cities like Tapachula and Tijuana — and eventual arrivals in U.S. cities. The sanctions freeze any assets the individuals have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibit any U.S. citizen or business from engaging in transactions with them. Officials also warned that foreign banks doing business with the gang could face secondary sanctions and risk losing access to the U.S. financial system. Guerrero, a former inmate at Venezuela's notorious Tocorón prison, is credited with building Tren de Aragua — often referred to as TdA — into a global force, using brutal tactics and prison contacts to extend the gang's reach throughout Latin America. 'Guerrero expanded TdA from a prison gang involved in extortion and bribery to an organization engaged in terrorism with growing influence throughout the Western Hemisphere,' the Treasury said in a press release. 'The Department of State is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Guerrero.' In addition to Niño Guerrero, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned: Yohan Jose Romero ('Johan Petrica') – A co-founder of the gang and Guerrero's close lieutenant. He oversees the group's illegal mining operations and weapons trafficking, including military-grade arms. A $4 million reward is being offered for his Angel Santana Pena ('Santanita') – An original member of the gang, accused of coordinating bombings, homicides, and terrorist activity from behind Jose Perez Castillo ('Wilmer Guayabal') – A cell leader involved in drug trafficking, assassinations of law enforcement and military personnel and bribery Marbelys Rios Gomez – Guerrero's wife, who is believed to manage the group's money laundering operations and is tied to terrorist Anner Castillo Rondon ('Pure Arnel') – The leader of Los Gallegos, a Tren de Aragua affiliate in Chile, implicated in human trafficking, sexual exploitation and narcotics activity. All individuals were sanctioned under executive orders targeting both transnational criminal organizations and global terrorist actors. Tren de Aragua has become South America's most feared gang, surpassing even MS-13 and Brazil's PCC in brutality and expansion. Chilean and Colombian authorities have blamed the group for surges in homicides and disappearances in recent years. Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department designated Tren de Aragua as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, citing its use of violence, corruption and terror to control communities, extort local businesses and infiltrate government institutions. The presence of TdA members in the United States led President Donald Trump to invoke the Alien Enemies Act to quickly deport Venezuelans suspected of being part of the violent gang to a megaprison in El Salvador, without giving them the opportunity to defend themselves in court. The practice was immediately halted by a federal court, but a recent Supreme Court decision has opened the door for the administration to deport undocumented migrants to third countries. ICE plans show that the administration is preparing to send migrants to distant countries while giving them as little as 24 hours to respond — and, in some cases, as little as six hours. According to the proclamation issued by Trump in March, the Nicolás Maduro regime had launched 'an invasion of the United States' by sending TdA members to infiltrate the U.S. with the ultimate goal of causing havoc. While most experts agree that the presence of TdA members is not as widespread as the administration has suggested, a recently revealed FBI report concluded that the Caracas regime did promote and finance gang members to travel into the United States.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Yahoo
Charleston immigrant community decries police, ICE raid of SC nightclub
Alejandra De La Vega, pictured on Friday, June 6, 2025, outside the Lonnie Hamilton Public Services Building in North Charleston. De La Vega was among those present but not arrested during a June 1 law enforcement raid of Alamo nightclub in Charleston County. (Photo by Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette) NORTH CHARLESTON — After law enforcement arrested 80 people during a weekend sting operation at a nightclub in Charleston County, federal immigration officials claimed 'the community at large knew that there was nothing good going on at that establishment.' But for some people present during the 3 a.m. June 1 raid at the Alamo, that simply was not the case. For Alejandra De La Vega, the venue located just outside the town of Summerville, right along the Charleston and Dorchester county line, was a place to dance with friends. 'I went to Alamo to enjoy the night, just like many others,' she told reporters Friday. 'But instead of fun, it turned into fear and humiliation.' De La Vega had just stepped out of the restroom when she said police stormed in, guns drawn. Patrons were running and screaming, she said, as more officers streamed in and ordered people to the ground. 'It was chaos,' she said at the news conference outside the Lonnie Hamilton Public Services Building in North Charleston. County, state and federal law enforcement held and questioned the more than 200 people present at the club during the raid, dubbed 'Operation Last Stand,' for two hours, De La Vega said. The S.C. State Law Enforcement Division began investigating Alamo in November 2024 after receiving a tip about potential human trafficking at the venue, agency spokeswoman Renée Wunderlich told the SC Daily Gazette Friday. The Department of Homeland Security also got involved in the investigation at that time, she said. Later Friday, SLED announced criminal charges against two people, the club's 59-year-old owner, Benjamin Reyna-Flores of Hanahan, and a 44-year-old security guard at the club, Terone Lavince Lawson of North Charleston. Reyna-Flores faces multiple charges related to unlawful sale of alcohol. The club had no alcohol license. Lawson faces illegal gun and drug possession charges. According to warrants from SLED, Lawson had 2 grams of meth, an eight ball of cocaine, and less than a gram of psychedelic mushrooms in his van. Police also found a pair of handguns in the van, which Lawson cannot legally possess due to past convictions for burglary in 2008 and assault in 2003. Those arrested include two unidentified 'high-level cartel members' associated with the Mexico-based Los Zetas cartel and the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua gang and one person wanted by Interpol for murder in Honduras, said U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent Cardell Morant. Ten juveniles as young as 13 — including one reported as missing — as well as an unidentified number of potential human trafficking victims were at the club at the time of the raid. Law enforcement also reported seizing guns, cocaine and cash. In her retelling of events, De La Vega said police separated anyone with visible tattoos and photographed them. De La Vega, a transgender Latina woman who has lived in the United States since 2001, said officers questioned the validity of her state-issued I.D. card, as well as that of the transgender woman she was there with. De La Vega has legal residency status in the U.S. She was not arrested. But 80% of those arrested Sunday did not have legal status to be in the country. The vast majority were arrested on civil immigration charges, not criminal violations. Five people were arrested for criminal offenses, Morant said. Homeland Security confirmed to The Post & Courier that Sergio Joel Galo-Baca is the Honduran man wanted for international homicide. Beyond SLED's announcement Friday, no other names or list of charges have been released. Homeland Security officials have not responded to emails sent by the SC Daily Gazette. 'The narrative that's been put out by the sheriff, by the governor, by the attorney general, is that they are just trying to stop violent criminals, stop trafficking,' said Will McCorkle, a member of the Charleston Immigrant Coalition. 'But what they quickly overlook are the many innocent people that were detained and are now in the process of deportation for no real purpose.' Now, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina, several families do not know where their family members are. They have searched their names online using Immigration and Customs Enforcement's database that people can use to locate the state and center where detainees are being held. But their family members' names have not shown up in the search, said Dulce Lopez, immigrant rights advocacy strategist for the ACLU. They can only assume, based on news reports, that their family members are at an ICE holding facility in Folkston, Georgia. 'That made me realize, how easily everything can be taken away,' De La Vega said. 'I keep thinking, what if I didn't have a legal status? What if I were detained and ripped away from my family?' 'My mom is my hero,' De La Vega continued. 'She came to this country and gave me and my siblings a better life. She raised us with love and sacrifice and with so much strength. We're really close, and I don't know what I would do if I was taken from her. No one should have lived with that fear.' Charleston County Sheriff Carl Ritchie, during a news conference Monday, cited noise complaints at the club and reports of assaults in the parking lot. Outside of Sunday's raid, the sheriff's department responded to the club 13 other times since 2020 for calls including 'suspicious circumstances,' vandalism and one armed robbery, according to a call log provided by the department. Area business owners said their biggest issue in the last several months had been club goers parking on the side of the highway and in their parking lots after the club's lot filled up, leaving behind excessive trash and beer bottles after nearly every weekend. The nightclub did not have a license to sell alcohol. A group of faith and immigrant community leaders stressed that they do not condone criminal activity. 'But no one deserves to be treated as guilty by association,' said Lopez, of the ACLU. People have reason to be afraid, McCorckle said, citing the recent case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly deported in March to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Living in Maryland, Garcia had been protected from deportation by a 2019 judge's ruling that he likely faced gang persecution in his home country. The Trump administration has insisted Garcia is an MS-13 gang member, which Garcia denied. On Friday, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Garcia was back in U.S. custody to face criminal charges in Tennessee related to human smuggling.
