US EditionUS charges five members of Mexico's United Cartels, imposes sanctions
The investigation began after a 2019 car accident and led to indictments of cartel leaders involved in methamphetamine trafficking, with rewards up to $10 million offered for information.
- On Thursday, the Justice Department announced charges against five top members of the United Cartels for smuggling multiple illegal drugs—including highly addictive stimulants, narcotics, and synthetic opioids—across the U.S.-Mexico border, focusing on their operations centered in Michoacán, Mexico.
- This legal case stemmed from a lengthy investigation triggered by a 2019 car crash involving two drug traffickers near Knoxville, Tennessee, which led to wiretap surveillance, a confrontation with police, and the seizure of narcotics concealed inside a tractor trailer.
- Authorities seized 850 kilograms of methamphetamine concealed in a truck floor, and uncovered messages linking the drugs to Juan José Farías Álvarez, aka El Abuelo, the United Cartels' leader, while three other cartel members also face charges.
- On Thursday, the State Department announced $26 million in rewards for information that leads to arrests, including $10 million for Farías Álvarez, and the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the United Cartels, Los Viagras, and seven affiliates.
- An official from the Justice Department's criminal division emphasized the ongoing collaboration with Mexican law enforcement to track down cartel members, aiming to prevent the flow of narcotics and associated violence in U.S. communities, highlighting a strengthened initiative to dismantle these criminal networks.
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88 Articles
Car crash in Tennessee town leads to federal charges for Mexican drug cartel operators
WASHINGTON — The investigation began years ago after two drug dealers got into a car accident in a small Tennessee town. What followed was a series of secret wiretaps, a shootout with police and the discovery of drugs hidden in a tractor trailer that would eventually lead federal investigators back to cartel leaders in Mexico.
A car accident in small-town Tennessee leads to US charges against a major Mexican drug operation
The investigation began years ago after two drug dealers got into a car accident in a small Tennessee town. What followed was a series of secret wiretaps, a shootout with police and the discovery of drugs hidden in a tractor trailer that would eventually lead federal investigators back to cartel leaders in Mexico.
Juan Jose Farias Alvarez, nicknamed "El Abuelo" (the grandfather), is one of the five senior members of the United Cartels whose indictments were made public on Thursday by the US Department of Justice.
DOJ charges five alleged Mexican cartel leaders, touts ‘extraordinary policework’ that led to indictments
DOJ announces criminal charges against five fugitives who allegedly are senior leaders of the United Cartels, a designated foreign terrorist organization.
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