The incident is only one of many deeds of bloodshed to have been carried out by the CJNG, whose barbarity is said to be on ascendance in recent weeks and months spilling on to U.S. soil and livelihoods. Still, The Courier Journal traveled to Portland, its suburbs, the Oregon coast and Seattle to review court records and interview federal agents, defense attorneys and prosecutors to learn about the Farfan drug ring, its cartel ties and how it finally imploded. Law enforcement agencies say that Mexican cartels have been targeting tourist destinations along the Oregon coast in an attempt to conceal their operations. She must report to a federal probation officer for five years. Moreover, the U.S. lacks the authority to make arrests in foreign countries, said Evans, a senior DEA official. Critics say the Mexican president, known as AMLO, seems more concerned about using federal troops to keep South Americanimmigrants out of his country than challenging the cartels. The strategy: Make it illegal for any U.S. citizen or company to spend money at a cartel-affiliated business. She recruited helpers, too, and they frequently made deposits of less than $10,000 amounts small enough to dodge federal reporting requirements at bank branches in Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee,as well asGreensboro and Winston-Salem,North Carolina. Macias found success following the cartel's three-pronged business model: Macias recruited Brizeida Janett Sosa, the mother of his youngest child, to help organize themoney laundering scheme, court records would later show. CJNG Pigs Kill Child Mistaking Her for the Child of a Rival Narco. More:Will El Chapo son's arrest slow export of drugs to US? Investigators believe Bustos fled to Mexico. Unlike most cartels and affiliated crime units that permeate Mexico, the CJNG has long posted its most extreme real-life horror films on display for the world to see across social media beheaded bodies left to hang and rot on bridges in broad daylight and beatings so brutal that the sound of bones cracking can be heard. During his three months in jail, he got sober. window.__mirage2 = {petok:"AT9cPsLXmTcu5DvoOKyYtBnoaFpnyDzcOkF8t9PIjh4-1800-0"}; El Mencho eventually joined the Milenio Cartel, gaining a reputation as a cunning sicario, or hitman, and then a boss of hitmen in Guadalajara, Jalisco's capital city. But someCJNGbossesdidnt follow those rules. A larger probe was underway by Washington County Sheriff's WIN Team, the Westside Interagency Narcotics task force that includes agents with the FBI, Hillsboro and Beaverton police and the Oregon National Guard County-Drug investigators. The cartels, including CJNG, are feeling empowered because of the rampantviolence in Mexico, said Paul Craine, a retired DEA supervisor who oversaw the U.S. hunt for El Chapo. That fight has been waged across America over the past seven years, federal court records show: CJNG is also using a mix of street gangsand white-collar businessmen to move the drugs and hide the money. March 30, 2022 MEXICO Grisly videos have emerged showing CJNG cartel members beheading rival narcos working under commands from La Vaca. Then he vanished, How this couple ran a redneck meth empire in an Appalachian county ravaged by addiction, How a Mississippi trooper almost took down the worlds most powerful cartel boss, Mother searches photos of mutilated dead men, hoping to find her abducted son, Officer disabled after helicopter shot down by rising Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Ransom-seekers and other cartelsare responsible for many of those disappearances,with CJNG to blame for thousands,DEA agentssay. "They are also very adept at using social media, such as Facebook and even Tik Tok, to show their strength and aggressiveness. The CJNG cartel and its backroads drug pipeline had caught the attention of federal authorities, who . CJNG torture video - The man was poured alcohol on his head and set on fire The man was poured alcohol on his head and set on fire The gunmen used isopropyl alcohol to set fire to the man's face and mocked his nickname. . In disturbing footage, thugs smash a man's face into a truck before kicking and punching him on the floor. Americans who may not know of CJNG today should take note, Dodds said. Closethe air vents. He can be contacted atbdarby@breitbart.com. While some moves targeted the cartels finances, others were more personal. or redistributed. Drug dealers may not have worried about being caught here, in Clatsop County, a 90-minute drive northwest from the bustling city of Portland. Last year, a judge sentenced Eduardo to 30 months behind bars, followed by five years supervised release. Beginning in 2015, the U.S. Treasury Department designated El Mencho a "kingpin," along with his brother-in-law, Abigail Gonzlez Valencia, leader of the Los Cuinis cartel. And though few Americans know his name, authorities promise they soon will. 7. (REUTERS/Stringer). "Police and civilians are dying, and the CJNG and continues unfettered, flooding the U.S. with methamphetamine and other drugs," Tabor added. At least three people including a pregnant woman in her early 20s languish in critical condition in Guanajuato,Mexico, after their hands were chopped off and their bleeding bodies were thrown from the back of a truck last week. Eight soldiers and Morales partner died. Their current. "He was very minutely involved. Victor Alvarez Farfan, a native of Michoacn, Mexico, headed the Portland drug ring blamed for bringing large amounts of meth, heroin and fentanyl across the border beginning in October 2017. "That's the type ofterrorists were dealing with here.". Roberto, 22, had a fianc and young daughter in Morelia, a city in Michoacn. Market data provided by Factset. Hearing the word "cartel" uttered in open court instantly rattled Eduardo. A veteran Jalisco police officer, whoasked not to be identified for his safety, said CJNG has officials on its payroll at thelocal, state and federal levels. He handed the bag to Noe Antonio Machado-Medrano, then age 23. More unchecked opportunities. Police grabbed him, finding two kilos of fentanyl stuffed in a backpack. ", More:Ignoring cartel danger, Mexican families scour wilderness for missing loved ones' remains. Los Cabos allegedly engaged in this violence in support of CJNG, one of the most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world. You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter! He remained in prison until his deportation in 2015, court records show. WARNING: THE VIDEO IS EXTREMELY DISTURBING AND GRAPHIC AND MAY NOT BE SUITABLE TO ALL AUDIENCES. Histestimony helped convict a trafficker connected to CJNG in 2014. He briefly worked as a police officer in Tomatln, a small town in Jalisco, learningthe inner workings of law enforcement,said DEA Special Agent Kyle Mori, who is heading the U.S. criminal investigationagainstEl Mencho fromLos Angeles. 2023www.courier-journal.com. According to the military, the vehicles were used by the CDG (Gulf Cartel) to transport drugs and hitmen. Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) gunmen lined up at least 17 victims and shot them during a funeral in western Mexico Sunday. Walker realized he wasn't the only one watching this drug ring. At night,from 2015 through April2017, Maciasdirected the flow of $30 millionworth ofheroin, cocaine, ecstasy, crystal meth and fentanylfromMexico to Kentucky's two largest cities:Lexington and Louisville. CJNG remains the domineering force in its namesake state of Jalisco where the former governor was gunned down on Friday, in what many believe to have been the work of the cartel and its trail of terror is steadily proliferating. Farfan brought in at least 20 kilos of meth, half a kilo of heroin and nearly two kilos of fentanyl. Farfan got the drugs from CJNG members in Michoacn, a western state long controlled by the cartel, La Familia Michoacna. Mexican cartel murders bride at altar during her own wedding, kidnaps groom, Canada's defence minister pledges 200 armoured personnel carriers for Ukraine during . Investigators trailed behind Eduardo to the Lloyd Center shopping mall in Portland on July 10, 2018. He had a 1999 aggravated felony drug conviction in Multnomah County and was deported in 2001. "All intelligence indicates hes still there, moving regularly," said Craine, the retired DEA supervisor who led the successful hunt for El Chapo. "This happened to me for being a thief, and because I didn't respect hard-working people and continued to rob them," the chilling note strapped to their bodies read. Investigative reporter Beth Warren spent threedays in Mexico City and Guadalajara with the U.S. DrugEnforcement Administration and Mexican police and government officials. How a Mexican cartel turned a rural area into a hidden cocaine hub, One mistake trapped a desperate dad in a Mexican drug cartel's web. //]]>. When authorities arrested him, they found twoassault rifles, one inscribed with "Menchito" little Mencho and anotherengraved with"CJNG 02 JR.". Alderete also is accused of asking a criminal informant in Paducahfor assault rifles andagrenade launcherto supplya cartel "war" in Mexico,saidJesseRiddle, the Narcotics Unit captain with the McCracken County Sheriffs Office in Paducah. In Hillsboro, a suburb 30 minutes west of Portland, a savvy drug cell leader supplied by Victor Farfan seemed untouchable. In a desperate bid to cling to its remaining territory, the group has joined forces with a former rival: a fast-growing cartel called the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Legal Statement. Through corruption and intimidation, CJNG has thrived, even as it found additional ways to make money. "I know Im not that person," he said, refusing to elaborate. CJNG burns rivals face alive as a way of mocking his nickname Ghost Rider. In just six months, smugglers brought across the border almost two kilos of fentanyl up to 1 million lethal doses of the No. It hauled inmore than 3 kilos of fentanyl, the synthetic opioid so potent that an amount as small as Abraham Lincoln's cheek on a pennycan be fatal. As Farfan's day of reckoning neared, he and his family pleaded for leniency. In cases in which immigrants resist the cartel's offer, CJNG members often threatened violence to them or their loved ones back in Mexico, according to court cases and law enforcement officials. Months later, the veteran texted his adult son about his gratitude that agents arrested him, saving his life. Based on the average street value, its trade could net upwards of $8.1 billion for cocaine and $4.6 billion for crystal meth each year. He also didn't want to be shunned by his close-knit family for betraying his uncle, a senior relative. Those who tried to run were tortured, killed and sometimescannibalizedby fellow recruits in what U.S. federal agents describe as a disturbing riteof passage. Market data provided by Factset. Because it's here, A short film: What Courier Journal uncovered about Jalisco New Generation Cartel's El Mencho. "Theyre killing the next generation, and one of them was my son," Brenda Cooley said. Enemies: CJNG, Juarez Cartel, Los Zetas. By the time of the hearing, the veteran was 560 days sober. "Big cities have big police departments and DEA, FBI and (Homeland Security Investigations) and an ability to look at intelligence and focus on their cells and contacts, said the DEA's Donahue. Brenda and Karl Cooley of Louisville certainly didnt know his name when their son Adam overdosed on fentanyl in March 2017. Rubn "Nemesio" Oseguera Cervantes is the leader of Crtel Jalisco Nueva Generacin, better known as CJNG. The judge said Farfan's attorney negotiated "a very significant break for him," cutting his possible prison time in half, considering sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of 30 years. killing on turf wars between the Jalisco cartel and its rivals as it expands into new territory. From there, Victor Farfan and his inner circle supplied drug trafficker John Armas in Hillsboro. The knives stabbed into the corpse fixed boards with messages to the body, one of which read "the traitor" in Spanish, Vice reports. All the CJNG nutthuggers here's your bad ass cartel terrorizing 10 year kids with dynamite. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @holliesmckay. Police had long known John Armas was a major meth trafficker, but he was careful. The cartel has run brothels in Mexico, often using teens and women forced into CJNG's web. Armas, in turn, paid Farfan, who then oversaw the flow of money back to cartel members in Mexico. Courier Journal reporters pieced together CJNGs network, from the suburbs of Seattle, the beaches of Mississippi and South Carolina, Californias coastline, the mountains of Virginia, small farming towns in Iowa and Nebraska, and across the Bluegrass State, including in Louisville, Lexington and Paducah. Rapid gunfire could be heard in videos that appeared to have been recorded at the scene of the mass murder. "My family knows Im not that person. Signs have also pointed to CJNG widening its footprint in the capital, Mexico City, aligning itself with the Fuerza Anti-Union gang to tackle the city's most extensive criminal enterprise, La Unin Tepito. Echeagaray pointed out that CJNG, although very violent, does not target civilians systematically. "But if you have drugs in your community, and I don't think there is any community that can say they don't have any, it is coming from the drug cartels. Adam died midsentence while writing a thank-you note to a friend on the eve of entering a rehab facility. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel). And the lifelong, medieval punishment of physical disability is one that has become synonymous with both state and non-state actors over the years, from ISIS and al-Qaeda to theIranianregime. The Courier Journal's investigation into CJNG's surge comes during a recent wave of significantviolence among warring drug cartels in Mexico. More:He reached 'kingpin' status by selling Mexican cartel-supplied drugs. CJNG's Kentucky strategy has been repeated in town after town across America, in places better known for cheese, cows and corn. Sam Upshaw Jr., Louisville Courier Journal. Alarmed by CJNG's surging violence in Mexico andcontinued expansion across this country, U.S. officials have pushed back. 1 nemesis, the Sinaloa Cartel, dominates the majority supply of everything from methamphetamine and heroin to the devastating synthetic opioid. The cartel alsorecruitsspies in theMexicangovernment and policeto keep its leaders out of jail and avoid drug busts. Farfan pleaded guilty in November 2021 to trafficking drugs and illegally reentering the U.S. and was the last of 23 defendants in the case to admit guilt. They found drugs and drug couriers, including a former nurse, linked back to Hillsboro in neighboring Washington County. It has drug cells all across the U.S., even in tiny towns. Experts estimate that the CJNG also brings in the millions in a multitude of methods aside from the drug trade including illegal mining, human trafficking, money laundering, and the extortion of farmers and their families for a cut in avocado exports and the forced protection payment or else meet a premature death. Even if U.S. and Mexican investigators can track El Mencho's location, capturing him won't be easy. He dropped out of sixth grade to helphis family pickavocados. Snchez was once a top lieutenant in the CJNG, but split to form his own cartel called La Nueva Plaza in 2017. Investigators uncovered three main pieces of the puzzle that revealed a snapshot of how this drug ring thrived. Other bosses used threats of violence in the U.S., despite El Mencho's warnings against it. Then in September 2020, a video believed to have been filmed in the central state of Zacatecas showed CJNG members directly threatening Ismael Zambada Garca, alias "El Mayo," leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. In America, Hispanic workers find themselves looked atwith suspicion because of political rhetoric that brands the drug trade and immigration as one and the same, say advocates for those workers. We have all had a drug consumption problem," said the official, who asked not to be identified for his protection. Victor Alvarez Farfan began sneaking into the U.S. and targeting the Portland area more than two decades ago when he was in his early 20s. Este es el #Mxico de @lopezobrador_ @BreitbartNews @elpais_america pic.twitter.com/E7kek1yNK4, Mxico Cdigo Rojo (@MexicoRojo1) February 28, 2022. In an international operation that stretches back to 2011 dubbed "King's Gold," Homeland Security investigatorsin Chicago uncovered a money laundering organization that funneled more than $101 million to CJNG and another cartel. A pool of blood forms on the floor. Much of the violence is attributed to the battle for territorial surface and thus the control oftheillicit drug flow into the United States. By five years supervised release a kilo of heroin and nearly two kilos of,! Was n't the only one watching this drug ring citizen or company spend! Mexico andcontinued expansion across this country, U.S. officials have pushed back during... Teens and women forced into CJNG 's surge comes during a recent wave of among! Target civilians systematically '' he said, refusing to elaborate Guadalajara with the,! 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