'El Chapo', Mexican Kingpin, Has Assets Seized By Colombia Police

[High_Gravity]

'El Chapo', Mexican Kingpin, Has Assets Seized By Colombia Police

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian police have seized 301 properties, including houses, vehicles and estates, that belonged to alleged front men for Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, the head of Mexico's powerful Sinaloa drug cartel, police said Wednesday.

About 500 officers participated in the operation in the capital of Bogota and five other districts of Colombia and seized about $250 million in assets, said Gen. Carlos Mena of Colombia's investigations police.

Mena said officers targeted members of the Cifuentes Villa gang, which has worked with Guzman to transport cocaine and launder money. He said that the property seized Tuesday will be sold or otherwise used to help victims of Colombia's internal conflicts and people affected by last year's intense rains.

Mena said police in Mexico, Panama and Ecuador also launched operations targeting property belonging to the Mexican kingpin, but gave no details.

Authorities in Colombia, Mexico and the United States have been collaborating this year to target property belonging to drug gang members. In May, Colombian authorities seized 135 properties, including front companies, of the Cifuentes Villa gang, Mena said.

Colombian police official Jorge Milton said the gang sprang from the Cifuentes Villa family, which joined Guzman to coordinate illegal shipments through import companies around the Western Hemisphere.

'El Chapo', Mexican Kingpin, Has Assets Seized By Colombia Police

 

[Mr. H.]

That's one way to get their attention.

 

[High_Gravity]

That's one way to get their attention.

El Chapo was ballin, you know he has assets in other countries like Cuba where nobody can touch them, at least I would.

 

[waltky]

'Shorty' Guzman and his gang...

Sinaloa group 101: Five facts about Mexico's powerful drug cartel
1 Nov.`11 - US authorities announced this week the dismantlement of a massive drug-smuggling operation in Arizona, believed to have generated $2 billion in proceeds over five years. The 76 suspects arrested in the 17-month probe, dubbed Operation Pipeline Express, are allegedly connected to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, the most powerful drug-trafficking organization operating in Mexico – and, some say, in the Western Hemisphere. “Today we have dealt a significant blow to a Mexican criminal enterprise that has been responsible for poisoning our communities,” Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne said in the statement. But who are the Sinaloa cartel?

1. The face of the Sinaloa group

The group is led by Joaquin Guzman-Loera, also known as “El Chapo,” who is Mexico’s most wanted fugitive. He is listed in the US State Department’s Narcotics Rewards Program, which says the information leading to his arrest could generate $5 million in reward money. “El Chapo” means “the short one” in English. (Mr. Guzman is 5 feet 8 inches and weighs 165 pounds, according to the state department.)

He received international notoriety after escaping from a maximum security prison in Jalisco state in 2001. The escape was allegedly achieved with the help of prison employees. Even as he remains on the lam, he is perhaps the most powerful drug lord in this region.

His whereabouts are the source of constant speculation, with sightings reported as far as Guatemala to Bolivia. Mexican President Felipe Calderón told The New York Times recently he might be in the US. His wife recently gave birth to twins in California.

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[waltky]

Like a thief who is ashamed only when caught...

'El Chapo' conspirator sentenced to 19 years; apologizes for 'mistakes'
Nov. 19, 2015 -- Tomas Arevalo Renteria, confessed operative of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel, was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment.

Arevalo Renteria, 46, apologized in front Wednesday before U.S. District Chief Judge Ruben Castillo, The Chicago Tribune reported. "I know that I must pay for my mistakes," Arevalo Renteria said in Spanish, apologizing to the court and the United States for his actions. Arevalo Renteria pleaded guilty in March 2014 to one count of possession of cocaine and heroin with intent to distribute. He also admitted responsibility to more than 150 kilograms of cocaine and 30 kilograms of heroin distributed in the United States, particularly in Chicago.

While asking the court to sentence Arevalo Renteria for 25 years, assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Ferrara called Arevalo Renteria an "experienced drug trafficker" who had access to the highest levels of the Sinaloa Cartel and arranged for the shipments of cocaine and heroin "as if he was ordering a pizza." Arevalo Renteria's arrest stemmed partly from the set up of two drug deliveries to the Chicago area, according to a U.S. government sentencing memorandum.

One of the two drug set ups occurred in November 2008 when Arevalo Renteria was talking on the phone with twin brothers Pedro Flores and Margarito Flores to set up a 12-kilogram cocaine deal in Chicago's west suburb of Cicero. The Flores brothers had become one of the largest drug distributors in the city, effectively earning the trust of Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel. What Arevalo Renteria did not know was that the brothers had become informants for the U.S. government.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - freeze his assets off, dat'll make him come in from the cold...

U.S. freezes 'El Chapo' associates' assets; report alleges government knew of escape
Nov. 25, 2015 -- The U.S. Department of Treasury has frozen the assets of two suspected operatives of Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control froze all assets of Guadalupe Fernández Valencia and Jorge Mario Valenzuela Verdugo after they were put on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List. U.S. citizens are banned from conducting business with the suspects. Fernández Valencia is accused of helping move drugs and money for the Sinaloa Cartel. She is also the sister of Manuel Fernández Valencia, a Sinaloa Cartel operative detained in the United States. Valenzuela Verdugo is accused of leading drug distribution in the Mexican cities of Culiacán and Guadalajara.

On July 11, Guzman escaped from a Mexican maximum security prison for the second time using a mile-long tunnel, which could have taken a year to build. Mexico's Proceso outlet recently released a report saying the country's Secretariat of the Interior had information showing Guzman was operating the Sinaloa Cartel from within the Altiplano Federal Prison. There was also evidence he was planning an escape. El Chapo" -- meaning "The Short One" or "shorty" -- so dubbed because of his 5-foot-6-inch frame, was captured in Guatemala in 1993 and then extradited to Mexico to face murder and drug trafficking charges. He escaped from prison in 2001 by hiding in a laundry cart after bribing prison guards, and was re-captured in February 2014.

Using allegedly leaked information from the Méxicoleaks website -- akin to the WikiLeaks website -- Proceso says high-ranking Interior Ministry officials were informed about Guzman's actions within the prison, mainly from conversations Guzman had during conjugal visits, family visits, his lawyers and the courts. Proceso says the Interior Ministry was also informed of an alliance Guzman made with other cartel bosses, particularly the Jalisco New Generation cartel, and also knew about secret orders Guzman made to his lawyers. The ministry was also alerted after a company called Systemtech attempted to gain access to the prison's blueprints, according to Proceso. The company was later linked to Guzman.

During his 477 days in prison, Guzman saw guests on 386 of those days, including 46 conjugal visits. In October, an unedited leaked video of Guzman's escape shed further light into the suspicious circumstances surrounding the prison break. Mexican television channel Televisa broadcasted the CCTV footage of Guzman's escape, the longer version of a video authorities previously released but without sound and only showing the moments before Guzman disappeared.

U.S. freezes 'El Chapo' associates' assets; report alleges government knew of escape

 

[Spinster]

Like a thief who is ashamed only when caught...

'El Chapo' conspirator sentenced to 19 years; apologizes for 'mistakes'
Nov. 19, 2015 -- Tomas Arevalo Renteria, confessed operative of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel, was sentenced to 19 years imprisonment.

Arevalo Renteria, 46, apologized in front Wednesday before U.S. District Chief Judge Ruben Castillo, The Chicago Tribune reported. "I know that I must pay for my mistakes," Arevalo Renteria said in Spanish, apologizing to the court and the United States for his actions. Arevalo Renteria pleaded guilty in March 2014 to one count of possession of cocaine and heroin with intent to distribute. He also admitted responsibility to more than 150 kilograms of cocaine and 30 kilograms of heroin distributed in the United States, particularly in Chicago.

While asking the court to sentence Arevalo Renteria for 25 years, assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Ferrara called Arevalo Renteria an "experienced drug trafficker" who had access to the highest levels of the Sinaloa Cartel and arranged for the shipments of cocaine and heroin "as if he was ordering a pizza." Arevalo Renteria's arrest stemmed partly from the set up of two drug deliveries to the Chicago area, according to a U.S. government sentencing memorandum.

One of the two drug set ups occurred in November 2008 when Arevalo Renteria was talking on the phone with twin brothers Pedro Flores and Margarito Flores to set up a 12-kilogram cocaine deal in Chicago's west suburb of Cicero. The Flores brothers had become one of the largest drug distributors in the city, effectively earning the trust of Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel. What Arevalo Renteria did not know was that the brothers had become informants for the U.S. government.

MORE

He only gets 19 years!!?? Are you kidding me?? For raping billions off people and destroying their lives?? That's not even a slap on the wrist! We apparently don't mean we want to stop drug trafficking otherwise we should have executed the whole lot of them.

 

[waltky]

Looks like El Chapo's gang got to him...

'El Chapo' prison guard killed; Mexico deploys 300 troops to guard prison
June 15, 2016 -- A Mexican soldier who guarded drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was recently found dead showing signs he was tortured in the Ciudad Juarez border town.

Mexico's Secretariat of National Defense announced that the body of 20-year-old Jorge Mauricio Melendez Herrera was found on Friday. A forensic expert determined he was killed from a blow to the back of the neck, but was also stabbed multiple times. Melendez Herrera was part of a team that guarded the outside of a Ciudad Juarez prison where Guzman is currently held as he appeals a U.S. extradition.

The Mexican government deployed 300 additional soldiers to increase security at the prison. The drug lord twice escaped from Mexican maximum security prisons. At least 11 Mexican security prison guards and officials are facing charges related to Guzman's escape.

Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel is credited with dominating the illegal drug market in nearly the entire United States. "El Chapo" -- meaning "The Short One" or "shorty" -- so dubbed because of his 5-foot-6-inch frame, was detained in Guatemala in 1993 and then extradited to Mexico to face murder and drug trafficking charges.

He escaped from prison in 2001 by hiding in a laundry cart after bribing prison guards, and was re-captured in February 2014. He was captured in the city of Los Mochis in his home state of Sinaloa on Jan. 8 after escaping from Mexico's Altiplano Federal Prison on July 11.

'El Chapo' prison guard killed; Mexico deploys 300 troops to guard prison - UPI.com

See also:

8 Mexican officers accused of helping 'El Chapo' escape could be freed
June 8, 2016 -- Eight Mexican federal police officers held without bail on suspicion of helping drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman escape from prison could be freed over due process violations.

A judge for Mexico's Fifth Unitary Court ordered an investigation into possible due process violations connected to Article 17 of Mexico's constitution, which relates to arrest, imprisonment and trials. The arrested officers were all in Mexico's Altiplano Federal Prison in July when Guzman escaped. The officers' lawyer, Alberto de la Cruz, told Radio Formula that authorities do not have enough evidence to hold his clients indefinitely.

De la Cruz said the due process violation committed was the failure of the public prosecutor to clearly notify his clients about the charges and evidence against them, particularly about which officer is facing which charges. The judge could rule for the continued detainment of the officers or could free them depending on the due process investigation. De la Cruz said there was a "possibility" his clients could be freed, adding that "we have an advantage" as it relates to the due process investigation.

Guzman escaped from prison in 2001 by hiding in a laundry cart after bribing prison guards, and was re-captured in February 2014. He was captured in the city of Los Mochis in his home state of Sinaloa on Jan. 8 after escaping from Mexico's Altiplano Federal Prison on July 11. Guzman's attorneys began work to block his extradition to the United States after it was approved by the Mexican government in late May.

8 Mexican officers accused of helping 'El Chapo' escape could be freed

 

[waltky]

'El Chapo' lieutenant Martin 'N' arrested by Mexican Federales...

'El Chapo' lieutenant Martin 'N' arrested by Mexican Federal Police
Sept. 6, 2016 -- Mexico's National Security Commissioner Renato Sales Heredia announced the arrest of Martin "N" -- an alleged lieutenant of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel.

Martin "N" was arrested on Friday in the city of Zapopan in Mexico's Jalisco state. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Treasury identified Martin "N" as Martin Guadencio Avendano Ojeda in a criminal designation order. "Martin 'N' is likely responsible for coordinating a network of drug distribution to the United States and establishing centers operating in Ensenada, Baja California, and in the towns of Comondu and Loreto in Baja California Sur, for a criminal organization," Sales Heredia said during a press conference Monday.

The United States has an arrest warrant and an extradition request issued against Martin "N." Sales Heredia said two firearms and about 2 pounds of cocaine were seized during the suspect's arrest. "Noting the presence of authority, Martin tried to escape from such action and injured one of the federal police and hit the vehicle in which he intended to flee, to finally be detained," Sales Heredia said.

Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel is credited with dominating the illegal drug market in nearly the entire United States, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said in a recent report.

'El Chapo' lieutenant Martin 'N' arrested by Mexican Federal Police

 

[waltky]

El Chapo cohort pleads guilty to drug trafficking...

Sinaloa Cartel aide, charged with 'El Chapo' 21 years ago, pleads guilty
Nov. 3, 2016 -- Antonio "The Engineer" Reynoso-Gonzalez, a member of the Sinaloa Cartel who was charged in 1995 along with Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, has pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges.

Reynoso-Gonzalez was charged with Guzman and 22 others with conspiracy to import and to possess cocaine with intent to distribute by the Southern District of California more than two decades ago.

The 72-year-old was extradited from Mexico to the United States in September 2015 along with 12 others who face charges over violent crimes and drug trafficking. Reynoso-Gonzalez faces a minimum sentence of 10 years but prosecutors will recommend a sentence of about eight years on account of his age, health and guilty plea.

Guzman used a Los Angeles food importation business Reynoso-Gonzalez's family owned to add legitimacy to his Sinaloa Cartel. Reynoso-Gonzalez admitted to paying a man to lease a warehouse in Mexico that would bear his family company's name, all the while knowing it would be used to store cocaine that would be sold in the United States, his plea agreement revealed Wednesday shows. Reynoso-Gonzalez also admitted to arranging a 860-pound cocaine shipment from Los Angeles to Chicago.

Sinaloa Cartel aide, charged with 'El Chapo' 21 years ago, pleads guilty

 

[waltky]

Drug world suffers a couple of setbacks...

Alleged 'El Chapo' henchman arrested in Mexico
Nov. 22, 2016 -- Mexico's Attorney General's Office said one of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's most wanted fugitives accused of working for Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel has been arrested.

The fugitive -- identified by the DEA as Luis Arellano-Romero -- was captured by Mexico's Criminal Investigation Agency in Ciudad Juárez, which borders the U.S. city of El Paso, Texas.

Mexico's Attorney General's Office charged the fugitive with crimes of illicit association, organized crime, crimes against public health, money laundering and firearms trafficking. He was taken to Mexico City "where he will continue the proceedings against him," the Attorney General's Office said in a statement released Sunday. In the United States, the DEA said Arellano-Romero is wanted for "conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance" in the Western District of Texas.

In 2012, Arellano-Romero was indicted in absentia along with Guzman and 22 other alleged high-ranking Sinaloa Cartel members in Texas. "Murder, kidnapping, money laundering, and drug trafficking are the four corners of this organization's foundation," U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman said in a previous statement. "For years, their violence, ruthlessness, and complete disregard for human life and the rule of law have greatly impacted the citizens of the Republic of Mexico and the United States. They must be held accountable for their criminal actions." Mexican officials did not disclose details of a possible extradition.

Alleged 'El Chapo' henchman arrested in Mexico

See also:

Colombia arrests 22 suspected 'Clan of the Gulf' gang members
Nov. 22, 2016 -- Colombian police said 22 suspected ''Clan of the Gulf" drug gang members have been arrested in the country's Meta, Guaviare and Vichada states.

The men were arrested as they attempted to expand the gang's territory. Among them are two allegedly high-ranking members of the gang. "We will not rest until we destroy this emporium of organized crime," Colombian National Police Gen. Jorge Hernando Nieto said in a statement.

The "Clan of the Gulf" is led by a man known as Otoniel, whom Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said is one of the main enemies of the government. Colombian police said the gang was also attempting to extend drug-smuggling routes to Russia.

The two alleged high-ranking members -- identified as "JJ" and "Veterino" -- were sent by Otoniel in attempts to recapture territory previously lost. "These two men led drug trafficking from Vichada, Meta, Guaviare, Casanare and Cundinamarca to Panama, Guatemala, Mexico, United States, Spain, Holland, Italy, England and Russia," Colombian police said. In the operations, five rifles, two shotguns, two 9mm pistols and 10 grenades were seized, along with ammunition and equipment for the weapons, police said.

Colombia arrests 22 suspected 'Clan of the Gulf' gang members