
Costa Rica Investigating 2014 Visit by El Chapo’s Children
Investigators in Costa Rica are working feverishly to find out why the children of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán were in their country as recently as last year.

Investigators in Costa Rica are working feverishly to find out why the children of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán were in their country as recently as last year.

One of the biggest blows to the Los Zetas drug cartel was dealt when a money laundering empire involving horse racing in Texas was dismantled in 2012. A drug smuggler now testifying in that case in San Antonio told the jury that horse racing was part of the trafficking culture, and Los Zetas leaders had been heavily involved in the sport well before the laundering scheme’s ringleaders were arrested.

Mexican authorities recently announced they have confiscated 11 planes, eight vehicles and six houses belonging to notorious kingpin and Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán in the past five months. However, concern is growing in Mexico over why the government can’t—or won’t—seize even more of the drug lord’s considerable assets.

Due to the giant financial influx provided by Mexican shoppers across the border, Arizona extends special privileges to Mexican nationals who possess a Border Crossing Card, essentially extending the border 75 miles into the state. However, a multi-agency push could extend that imaginary border to cover the entire state of Arizona, allowing roughly 1.2 million Mexican visitors to travel freely throughout the state without having to file an I-94 form.

An Ohio county sheriff recently announced his agency had made one of the largest heroin seizures ever in the Miami Valley – drugs that were sourced to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel. Hundreds of thousands of dollars and several firearms were also seized. The sheriff is now warning the cartel to stay out of his territory.

After falling behind Peru as the world’s largest cocaine producer, Colombia has regained the top spot. The South American country now grows more illegal coca than Peru and third-place Bolivia combined, and most of that cocaine is headed to the U.S. through Mexico.

Shortly after the tragic terror attacks that occurred in Paris the evening of November 13, French President Francois Hollande ordered the closing of his country’s borders to prevent anyone involved in the attacks from leaving France. However, carrying out such an order by bringing all cross-border traffic to a halt—even in a country as relatively small as France—is easier said than done.

Sheriff’s deputies from Nacogdoches county, Texas, made a traffic stop and found over $1 million in cash that they determined belonged to a Mexican drug cartel. The incident occurred nearly 500 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.

Law enforcement officials in rural Indiana were in for a shock when they started searching a 148-acre tract of land in Delaware County during a murder investigation. The deceased owner of the property had allegedly been purchasing thousands of pounds of marijuana every year from a Mexican cartel, and a three-day search, begun on November 5, was attempting to uncover the remains of a snitch the owner had buried on his land over a decade ago.

Despite Mexico City’s enormous population and opportunities for criminal organizations, it has remained a relative neutral ground for drug cartels. But that image was shattered when drivers discovered a corpse hanging from a Mexico City bridge—a telltale sign that the capital’s peace may be about to shatter.

On November 4, Mexico’s Supreme Court made a landmark—and highly controversial—decision, declaring that individuals should have the right to grow and distribute marijuana for their personal use. The ruling applies only to a single cannabis club that filed the suit, but may have initiated a domino effect that will pave the way for eventual marijuana legalization.

It has long been known that Colombian terrorists produce roughly half of the cocaine that enters Mexico en route to the US. Panamanian authorities have recently revealed that the Sinaloa Cartel has had a direct presence in Panama for years—including most-wanted kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán himself.

Smuggling human beings has become a more profitable commodity than smuggling drugs. Just one person can command a profit of up to $100,000 for human smugglers, according to one criminologist in the Caribbean. That “premium package” could get the migrant a new identity, foreign passport, legitimate documents, and a plane ticket to the US.

When most Americans think of large numbers of Cuban migrants leaving the island nation, they picture rafts and boats headed towards the Florida Keys. However, this new exodus finds hundreds of Cubans heading to Central America and joining those following the same migration routes heading towards the U.S.-Mexico border.

Halloween weekend was a deadly one in Chicago, which registered shootings that left 15 people wounded. The city has a high crime rate and dozens of gangs that most assume are responsible for the high levels of urban violence. However, many residents feel that it’s the very presence of dangerous drug dealers who keep them safe.

A self-identified Mexican drug cartel enforcer was expected to receive a life sentence on November 2 with no chance for parole after pleading guilty on October 6 to nine murders in California. Authorities say the man admitted to several other killings across the country in service of a cartel he refuses to identify.

A Catholic Church official announced Sunday that Pope Francis will arrive in Mexico on February 12 to begin his much-anticipated eight-day visit.

On October 24, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto toured areas in southwest Mexico affected by Hurricane Patricia. The hurricane’s 200-mph winds at landfall and accompanying torrential rains left surprisingly little damage in her wake.

When the Mexican government announced the deregulation of its energy sector, many in the industry anticipated a rush to exploit Mexico’s rich hydrocarbon and gas deposits. People living in the Mexican energy boomtown in the Juárez Valley southeast of Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, Texas, allege that land speculators preparing for the start of oil and gas production have spurred a land grab that has forced what some claim is an exodus of local residents.

Hurricane Patricia was hailed as an historic and potentially catastrophic storm as it slammed into the Mexican Pacific coast with sustained winds of over 200 miles per hour. But despite the fears and warnings, the Category 5 hurricane made landfall the evening of October 23 just south of Puerto Vallarta without any loss of life or massive damage to critical infrastructure.

Mexico and the United States said on October 15 they will open two jointly staffed border inspection stations on Mexican soil in a bid to streamline trade and improve communication at the frontier. This plan is not new, but has been held up for years in the shadow of controversy over US agents carrying firearms on Mexican soil.

A prominent blog from Spain about citizen journalism has touted the efforts of Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project as a “successful formula” for demonstrating how the collaboration between professional and citizen journalists can bring down violent drug cartels. Journalist and director of Spain’s Periodismo Ciudadano website Paula Gonzalo writes that Breitbart Texas is acting as a bridge across the border so Mexican citizen journalists can tell these vivid cartel stories.

Ohio’s Attorney General believes the Toledo’s new pot ordinance will turn the city into a haven for drug cartels. In September 2015, residents of Toledo, Ohio voted 11,663 to 4,911 to pass the “Sensible Marihuana Ordinance,” which eliminated the punishments for possessing and trafficking marijuana. It makes the crime either a minor drug offense or a fifth-degree drug felony.

Mexico’s plan to deter illegal immigrants from Central America from crossing its southern border has been effective, as apprehension numbers have plummeted. However, abuse complaints—including violent attacks and extortion—against Mexican immigration officials have skyrocketed.

On October 7, the US Department of Justice announced the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) had dismantled a drug trafficking organization responsible for the transportation of multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and drug money between Puerto Rico and the Continental United States. This organization was using drug mules to smuggle kilograms of cocaine hidden in suitcases on airplanes.