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Attempt to charge Mexican scientists with ‘organized crime’ prompts international outcry

When the son of astrophysicist José Franco answered the door at their home in Mexico City in June, he didn’t know why an agent from Mexico’s federal prosecutor’s office was asking for verification that his father lived at that address. When he confirmed it, the agent left without explanation. Franco,… Read More

How Mexico’s Cartels Use Video Games to Recruit Children

By Cartel De Jalisco, InSight Crime, 15 October 2021 InSight Crime — Mexican criminal groups have hit on a new way to recruit vulnerable young people into their ranks: reaching out to them while they play video games. On October 11, authorities in the southern state of… Read More

Treasury Department sanctions 8 members of the notorious Sinaloa drug cartel, which was once run by ‘El Chapo’

The Biden administration imposed sanctions Wednesday on eight members of the notorious Mexican Sinaloa cartel, largely recognized as the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere. The Treasury Department designated Sergio Valenzuela Valenzuela, 52, for his role overseeing a major drug trafficking corridor where “multi-ton quantities of illicit… Read More

2nd September 2021

Record Remittances from US to Mexico Raise Money Laundering Concerns

By Parker Asmann, InSight Crime, 1 September 2021 InSight Crime — The Mexican government is highlighting a record number of remittances sent back to the country by citizens living in the United States this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but organized crime groups have long exploited these transfers… Read More

31st August 2021

Colombia arrests ‘Sinaloa Cartel money laundering chief’

Colombia’s police on Saturday detained a senior drug trafficker for allegedly laundering money for the Sinaloa Cartel. According to local media, Nestor Tarazona was reportedly arrested near Pereira, the capital of the Risaralda province and one of the cities where the senior drug lord allegedly laundered money for the… Read More

25th August 2021

Limited Chinese cooperation hindering U.S. fentanyl fight -congress report

Weak cooperation between U.S. and Chinese authorities is hindering efforts to curb increasingly sophisticated forms of fentanyl trafficking, according to a U.S. congressional advisory report reviewed by Reuters. The report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, due to be published on Tuesday, said U.S. authorities have found that… Read More

18th August 2021

Interpol issues arrest warrant for Mexican airline co-founder

Interpol has at Mexico’s request issued an international arrest warrant for Miguel Aleman, co-founder of budget airline Interjet, on criminal tax fraud charges, according to government sources and Mexican media. Last month, prosecutors issued a national arrest warrant for Aleman, the grandson of a former president and the son of… Read More

11th August 2021

Chinese Broker Laundered Latin American Drug Money Around the World

By Katie Jones, InSight Crime, 10 August 2021 InSight Crime – A Chinese businessman laundered tens of millions of dollars in drug money through a Guatemalan casino, a US seafood export company, Miami banks, and Chinese bank accounts, in a case that reveals the wide reach of… Read More

6th August 2021

‘Armed and Dangerous’: Inside the ’Ndrangheta’s Intercontinental Cocaine Pipeline

By Cecilia Anesi, Margherita Bettoni and Giulio Rubino, OCCRP, 5 August 2021 OCCRP — In his younger years, the Italian drug trafficker Giuseppe Romeo, known as “Maluferru,” was fascinated with Mexican narcos. In particular, police sources familiar with the trafficker say, he admired Los Zetas, the hyper-violent cartel… Read More

5th August 2021

Mexican regulator claims 12 digital currency exchanges operating illegally

One of Mexico’s financial services regulators has flagged 12 digital currency exchanges, which it says are operating illegally. According to the watchdog, these exchanges have yet to register as required by the law and face criminal and monetary penalties. The head of the Mexican Financial Intelligence Unit,… Read More

4th August 2021

A Blend of Family and Politics in Guatemala’s Cocaine Trade

By Alex Papadovassilakis, Insight Crime, 3 August 2021 Insight Crime — An anti-narcotics operation in western Guatemala has shed more light on how families involved in local politics can play a pivotal role in the regional cocaine trade. The Attorney General’s Office raided a… Read More

29th July 2021

Fishing Cooperatives Used to Mask Drug Shipments into Mexico

By Scott Mistler-Ferguson, InSight Crime, 28 July 2021 InSight Crime — Mexico’s largest criminal groups are outsourcing the retrieval of cocaine shipments to smaller groups posing as fishing cooperatives, providing another example of how maritime infrastructure is subverted by the drug trade. Groups such as the Sinaloa Cartel… Read More

26th July 2021

Laundering $1 Million With Very Little Risk

One might wonder whether it would be easy to launder $1 million in cash in one day for Mexican cartels. Sadly, the answer is, you wouldn’t need a full day and could probably get it done in hours. Worse yet, 98% of law enforcement, regulators and AML professionals would never… Read More

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