Beyond The Horizon
ICYMI: The Los Chapitos And Their Fentanyl Empire (Part 2)
The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world. It is based in the Mexican state of Sinaloa and has a global reach, with operations in several countries, including the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. The cartel is known for its ruthless tactics, including violence, bribery, and corruption.The Sinaloa Cartel was founded in the late 1980s by a group of drug traffickers, led by Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, who is now serving a life sentence in the United States.
Since then, the cartel has grown into a powerful criminal organization with a complex hierarchy and sophisticated operations.The cartel's primary source of income is the trafficking of illegal drugs, primarily cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine. The Sinaloa Cartel is responsible for a significant portion of the drugs that enter the United States from Mexico, and it has been estimated that the cartel's annual revenues exceed $3 billion.The cartel operates through a network of cells and affiliates, each with its own area of operations and responsibilities.
The top leadership of the cartel is believed to be composed of a small group of individuals, including Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who is considered the current leader of the cartel.The Sinaloa Cartel is known for its brutal violence, and it has been responsible for numerous assassinations, bombings, and other violent acts. The cartel has also been accused of using bribery and corruption to maintain its power and influence, and it has been reported that the cartel has bribed law enforcement officials and politicians in Mexico and other countries.
Despite efforts by law enforcement to dismantle the cartel, it remains a significant force in the global drug trade. The Sinaloa Cartel continues to adapt and evolve, using new technology and tactics to evade law enforcement and expand its operations.
In this episode we explore how the Los Chapitos took the mantle from their father and turned the Sinaloa cartel into a Fentanyl producing empire.
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to contact me:
bobbycapucci@protonmail.com
source:
SPECIAL REPORT-How El Chapo’s sons built a fentanyl empire poisoning America (msn.com)
- Duration:
- 23m
- Broadcast on:
- 11 Jul 2024
- Audio Format:
- mp3
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U.S. Mexico security ties have frayed Amlow called the recent U.S. indictments against the four younger goose mons abusive arrogant interference that should not be accepted under any circumstances the Mexican leader said the case was built by DEA agents operating in Mexico which he is deemed a violation of sovereignty so Amlow's kind of stepping in it here and cutting off his nose to spite his face I am not a fan of the DEA by any stretch of the imagination but when we're talking about what they do down in Mexico considering what the rules are for the war on drugs as it is they're playing a crucial role and without their help down in Mexico there's no way that the Mexican security forces are going to be able to root out groups like the Los Chapitos it's going to be impossible while he has not booted the agency from the country DEA operations have been hobbled on his watch Mexico in 2021 disbanded an elite police unit that were closely with the DEA for a quarter of a century amended a national security law to make it harder for foreign agents to operate inside Mexico and slow-walked visa approvals for DEA agents CNN reported we talked about this at the time and again it's a bad idea it's only going to make things much more difficult as far as keeping an eye and tabs on what these dudes are doing in these cartels those measures were widely viewed as retaliation for the 2020 arrests of former Mexican defense minister Salvador Cien Fuegos in Los Angeles on drug trafficking charges a move that angered Amlo U.S. prosecutors later dropped the charges pointing to sensitive foreign policy considerations not that he's innocent not that he didn't do it but we want to make sure things are smooth do you think you or I would ever get that kind of soft walk from the United States government if we were selling narcotics or involved with selling narcotics so why would you drop these charges the Justice Department declined to comment the DEA did not respond to a request for comment Raphael Haredia Rubio a lawyer representing Cien Fuegos said he was not authorized to comment Cien Fuegos attorneys previously had denied that he was involved in drug trafficking Ferraris and pet tigers born into one of Mexico's most storied outlaw families Guzman's five sons Edgar Yvonne Jesus Alfredo Joaquin Jr. and a video grew up in luxury once unimaginable to their father a semi literate farm worker from Sinaloa's mountains before becoming the head of a drug empire El Chapo fathered more than a dozen children according to local media not not all of whom are reputed to be involved in drug trafficking minor social media celebrities they flaunted their pet tigers Ferraris and Golden AK-47s on Instagram and Twitter those accounts were never verified by those platforms but a social media analyst familiar with cartel communications and two security sources told Reuters they believe the accounts were authentic they were authentic 100% these accounts were real cartel members far and wide love to use social media reflects they love to be on there showing off their guns their cars this that the other thing early on the general perception was that the las chapitos were spoiled brats said Mike Vigil former head of DEA's international operations after El Chapo's escape from a maximum security prison in 2001 reportedly in a laundry trolley the brothers took a hands-on approach to the family business security sources said Edgar blazed a trail for his brothers by building his own contacts and doing his own deals the sources said but he was killed in 2008 in Kuli Akan in a hell of bullets amid infighting between warring factions of the Sinaloa cartel his four surviving brothers filled the void according to US and Mexican security sources starting in 2009 with Jesus Alfredo the brothers all have been indicted by US authorities multiple times for alleged offenses including money laundering possession of machine guns and trafficking of fennel heroin and cocaine the US State Department in 2021 put five million dollar bounties on their heads a figure recently doubled for Yvonne and Jesus Alfredo while the DEA set up chapitos tips at DEA.gov to encourage snitches to rat them out boy you gotta have some set of huevos huh snitch out the cartel you got to be really up against it to even think about doing something like that the agency in April placed Yvonne on the list of its 10 most wanted fugitives joining Jesus Alfredo and Ishmael El Mayo zambada a Sinaloa cartel legend and El Chapo's alleged former business partner Washington has taken note of Los Chapitos and their business flair the state department in its 2021 bounty notices set of video and Joaquin jr. began smuggling chemicals from Argentina in 2008 to launch experiments in Mexico on how to produce methamphetamine as they built their own crew the brothers purportedly discarded the shibileth that Sinaloa kingpins should only sell drugs to foreigners Los Chapitos plays pushers on street corners in Coulee a con according to cartel members and Mexican media reports but I thought that Amlo said there's not a drug problem inside of Mexico I thought that that was only an American problem or could it be that Amlo is lying in what would prove to be another consequential move a video in 2014 began to tinker with manufacturing fennel in Mexico according to one indictment unsealed last month that same year the brothers faced another major test their father was nabbed again this time by Mexican Marines working with the DEA the sons helped El Chapo stay yet another audacious escape in July 2015 by organizing the construction of a mile-long tunnel to his Mexican prison cell according to testimony that would emerge later at the elder Guzman's 2019 drug trafficking trial in New York following the tunnel caper Mexican authorities recaptured El Chapo in January 2016 he tapped his sons to head his portion of the trafficking empire triggering a power struggle with Lopez who had run the business during the boss's previous incarceration according to 2017 Mexican military intelligence documents viewed by Reuters Las Chapitos and their posse squeezed Lopez's crew by crimping his finances near a cinolo and dam where both groups filched water to feed their clandestine drug labs the brothers cut off Lopez's access to his critical resource crippling his manufacturing capability while keeping the taps open for themselves according to three serving Mexican Marines who spoke with Reuters and we've talked about how Cinoloa cartel and cartels in general use water in Mexico as not only a commodity but as a tool to keep people in line and if you control a resource like water in a drought-stricken area you're gonna have a lot of power Las Chapitos had an advantage as they kept the production of drugs they had money to pay saccarios by arms said one of the men who work with the elite navy unit that helped capture El Chapo in 2016 the feud escalated into an all-out war following Guzman's 2017 extradition to the United States El Chapo sons targeted the 13 Cinoloan police officers for execution because they were on Lopez's payroll according to prosecutors and former cops in Cinoloa as well as military officials and intelligence documents reviewed by Reuters police and Cinoloa did not respond to the claims that the targeted officers were in league with Lopez they were that's how it goes when you're offered all that money by the cartel and you're only making I don't know $200 American a month it's not a very difficult decision one of the US indictments unsealed last month details other grizzly violence allegedly meted out by the Las Chapitos their henchmen allegedly kidnapped two officials from the federal attorney general's office in early 2017 torturing one by inserting a corkscrew into his muscles ripping it out then placing hot chilies into his open wounds and nose sounds like a fantastic day at the office huh Yvonne finished off the victims with gunshots with Jesus Alfredo pitching in to shoot one in the face according to the indictment which said the two brothers also killed some of their enemies by feeding them alive to pet tigers they kept it their ranches the brothers in their public letter denied killing or torturing the officials or feeding people to tigers a tiger may kill a person but eat him we do not have nor do we have tigers the letter stated which is obviously a lie we've all seen the pictures of the tigers and them flaunting the tigers in those pictures star prosecution witness and El Chapo's trial in 2019 Lopez got his home life sentence for drug trafficking reduced in 2021 his name disappeared from the federal Bureau of Prisons public registry of inmates fueling media speculation that he entered witness protection Lopez through his lawyer declined to comment on their turf and kuleah con meanwhile the brothers quickly solidified their grip on the local drug market a local trafficker told Reuters the following is a high five moment from 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heroin to the United States with the help of the syndicate said gunmen working for the las tepitos told street dealers they had to purchase product from their cartel faction exclusively and pay protection money he said several friends and family members who were slow to comply were kidnapped and beaten las tepitos made it clear that the market now belongs to them hey zoos said and that sort of thing is very very common when we're talking about drugs you'll have a big-time player move into an area and all of the little drug dealers and medium dealers who were copying their bag from somebody else they're gonna have to get on the package of the new player in town whoever just moved into the neighborhood and if you don't get on their package you're gonna get clipped you're gonna get dealt with showing who's boss on december 1st 2018 Lopez Obrador took office after winning mexico's presidency in a landslide within months members of unopes the Navy's elite special forces unit that had pursued el Chapo and other traffickers were ordered by superiors to leave cinaloa and shut down their temporary bases there according to three marines and three xdea officials and amlo will tell you that has to do with mexico wanting their sovereignty to be respected but there's people out there that will say amlo and his administration are in bed with the cinaloa cartel and that's why they're doing what they're doing and I think it's probably a little bit of both now do I think amlo is directly on the payroll of a cartel probably not but I do think that people around him are certainly wet in their beak in october 2019 came the mexican army's first capture of a video goosemon and kulea con recalling that day to cinaloa cartel members told Reuters that within minutes encrypted radios carried by fellow gunmen began to buzz with the news the bosses fallen the bosses fallen hundred of gang fighters armed with military grade weapons rushed to the scene firing on government troops and barricading key city streets to trap them they also kidnapped eight soldiers and surrounded military housing where wives and children of mexican soldiers lived mexican officials said now imagine somebody trying that in America going to say oh I don't know Nellis Air Force base and saying we're gonna surround this place until you let so-and-so go how long do you think it would take before a few blackhawk helicopters and a few Apaches were launched to take care of that problem see down in mexico it's not the same the military is hard pressed to deal with these cartels with the pop pop pop of gunfire echoing in the background encircled mexican troops put a video on the phone with his brother Yvonne in an attempt to get las chapitos to call off their gunmen tell them to stand down I don't want chaos a video said in video footage released by mexico's government hell no we are coming to rescue you Yvonne responded according to cineloa newspaper Rio doce hours later with kulia con resembling a war zone and scenes of pandemonium being broadcast across the globe amlo ordered the army to free or video the day of terror shocked cineloans whose relationship with the cartel is complex el Chapo had the reputation of being ruthless to those who crossed them but locals say he provided jobs handouts and security by punishing hoodlums preying on poor communities there's no doubt that the older bosses were different they weren't good people but they were different and there was a level to this game and the extreme violence was only needed out when absolutely necessary because it's all about business right and if you're dropping bodies everywhere makes it hard to collect the bag but things are a lot different now and these new younger narcos they don't respect shit it was the first time we saw the cineloa cartel use their arm power to generate chaos and fear to try and achieve their goals said Adrian Lopez publisher of the cineloan nor rest a newspaper for the brothers it was a turning point mexico's military and this president had bowed to them in front of the entire world it showed who was in power a cartel member said there's no doubt that the cineloa cartel was involved in by this and they remain involved in by it still they set out to burnish their public image one such charm offensive took place in December 2020 in San Diego a village about 60 kilometers a south of Kulliakan that is home to several high-ranking cartel saccarios a residential Reuters there lost Chapitos staged a music concert and raffle whose prizes included new cars washing machines and refrigerators all bearing stickers in blazant with El Chapo's initials JGL for Joaquin Guzman Lorea that person and two other locals said a fourth declined to answer questions saying I don't want them to disappear me during the COVID-19 lockdown the brothers doled out food parcels and built an outdoor school in rural cineloa and they have maintained the tradition of punishing common hoodlums cineloan residents and cartel members said and back in the day when the mafia was running things in America the safest neighborhoods in the whole last country were mafia ran neighborhoods you really think you were going into a Gambino neighborhood and robbing somebody zero chance not if you wanted to stay alive and you saw the same thing down here in Mexico with the cartels for a very very long time and while some of that tradition still remains it's certainly not at the forefront of the mind of these new younger narcos it's all about money power and the consolidation of both taking control but like their father lost Chapitos are at heart violent businessmen with a drive for manufacturing and moving drugs security officials said a gang soldier calling himself huero a silver pistol tucked into his waistband last year gave Reuters a tour of a cartel safe house on the edge of Kulea Khan there are two young men and white surgical gloves sat at a brown lacquer table carefully stuffing white powder into transparent capsules methamphetamine samples for a new client looking to ship in bulk to the United States huero said as fentanyl and meth production of sword U.S. seizures have likewise skyrocketed interdictions of fentanyl alone on the U.S. Mexico border hit 14,104 pounds in the fiscal year ending September 30th 2022 up more than 400 percent since 2019 according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data and if that much has been caught how much has gotten through inside Mexico meanwhile the army had a grudge to settle in early January of this year the army told amlo it planned to mount a top-secret operation to recapture a video according to a then senior government official with direct knowledge of the events the president approved the mission but was not informed of the date and time the source said Mexico's army and the presidency did not respond to requests for comment about the officials account and they probably didn't want to tell them because of leaks they didn't want any of the corrupt officials around amlo letting the cartel know that this was going down as hundreds of soldiers encircled a video's rural cinello and compound in the pre-dawn assault a helicopter strafed targets from the air video of the incident showed cartel gunmen went on a rampage again setting fire to cars blocking roads and forcing kulia cons airport to shut by shooting at passenger jets the violence left 29 people dead including 10 armed forces personnel but the Sicarios were too late a military chopper had already with the video out of cinelloa despite that blow to the cinelloa cartel fentanyl keeps flowing north in February and march us border agents seized a combined 5,130 pounds of fentanyl in the two biggest monthly halls ever and the sad truth is no matter how much of this stuff we stop at the border a ton of it is going to get through and hit the streets and while I certainly think it's a good idea to have border interdiction set up I also think it would be a good idea to start putting some fundage towards rehabilitating the people that are addicted to this poison in our streets because until we deal with that problem we will never make an inch of headway in the so-called war on drugs all right folks that's gonna do it for this one all of the information that goes with the episode can be found in the description box high five casino is a social casino with real prizes and big biggest hits at high five casino calm the hottest games right from Vegas and all winnings go straight to your bank account hundreds of exclusive games free daily rewards and come back to get free coins every four hours only at high five casino calm high five casino is a social casino no purchase necessary void work prohibited play responsibly terms in addition supply see website for details at high the number five casino calm high five casino an official message for Medicare a new law is helping me save more money on prescription drug costs maybe you can save to with Medicare's extra help program my premium is zero am I out of pocket costs are low who should apply single people making less than twenty three thousand dollars a year or married couples who make less than thirty one thousand dollars a year even if you don't think you qualify it pays to find out go to ssa.gov/extrahelp paid for by the US Department of Health and Human Services.