Brandon Darby - Page 2

A federal judge in Texas sentenced an Indian national who was in the United States on a student visa to more than eight years in prison for his role in a financial scam that targeted senior citizens.

Police in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas are ignoring innocent cartel victims and not responding to the scenes of attacks. This new development allows cartel gunmen to attack innocent victims with complete impunity while government officials claim that crime is decreasing in the cartel-controlled state.

The Israeli Embassy in Mexico revealed that Mexican authorities worked to foil an assassination plot by Iran against its ambassador in that country. The announcement sparked controversy in Mexico as government officials tried to distance themselves from the operation. Iran’s Embassy in Mexico claimed that it was all lies from Israel.

Mexico’s President, Claudia Sheinbaum, denounced the war on drugs, claiming that her government was not going to go that route because killing drug traffickers is a fascist approach that violates their rights. The comments come at a time when Mexico’s government has been harshly criticized worldwide for the raging cartel violence and the government corruption that has enabled it.

Riots continue in the Mexican state of Michoacan following the murder of a local mayor who had gained fame for his hard stance against crime and cartels. In the most recent riots, protesters set fire to the city hall building in Apatzingan as locals called for the ousting of cartel-connected politicians from Mexico’s ruling party, MORENA.

Authorities in Mexico confirmed a large-scale shootout in the hyperviolent western state of Sinaloa, where 13 gunmen died while trying to ambush a squad of Mexican soldiers. In the aftermath of the clash, authorities also reported rescuing nine kidnapping victims.

The cartel-connected governor of the Mexican state of Michoacan had to leave a ceremony and wake held to honor Carlos Manzo, the murdered Mayor of Uruapan, who had become famous in Mexico for his hard stance against cartels. Amid insults, shoves, and shouts, Governor Alfredo Ramirez Bedolla had to make a quick exit after trying to attend the event. Hours later, hundreds of protesters vandalized the governor’s palace and even attempted to torch it during a protest over Manzo’s murder and the raging cartel violence that plagues Michoacan.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury outed and sanctioned a human smuggling organization based in Cancun that focused on moving the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and South America. The organization used yachts to move thousands of migrants into Mexico, from where it would work with other groups to get them to California.

One of the most vocal federal senators in Mexico publicly claimed that U.S. President Donald Trump is right in his statements about the country being ruled by drug cartels.

Mexico’s President claimed she was outraged after the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a series of America First measures that included cancelling 13 routes to and from an airport in Mexico City.

Unknown gunmen kidnapped and murdered a journalist in western Mexico. At the time of the killing, the gunmen left a posterboard claiming that the murder was for writing “false things about the people of Durango.”

The Gulf Cartel continues to run a complex surveillance network throughout the border city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, that includes TV cameras, lookouts, and its own clandestine radio network. The network gives the Gulf Cartel eyes and ears throughout the city, not only to keep rivals out but also to prey on the public.

Travelers in the border state of Tamaulipas are sounding the alarm about a police checkpoint that state investigators are allegedly setting up to collect extortion, and where at least three victims have been abducted and turned over to Gulf Cartel gunmen. The gunmen reportedly tortured the victims while demanding ransom.

Authorities in Mexico confirmed the discovery of 48 bags with human remains so far at the most recent clandestine gravesite in the cartel-controlled state of Jalisco. The state is controlled by Cartel Jalisco New Generation, one of the six Mexican cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration.

Authorities in Mexico arrested a suspected member of the Gulf Cartel who had 151 drone explosives, 18 drones, three IEDs, and various other weapons. The seizure also included state-of-the-art anti-drone weapons.

Gunmen with the Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas wounded two Mexican police officers during an ambush-style attack. The attack is the third of its kind since Thursday, as police and military forces attempt to hold back the CDN-Los Zetas from setting up operations in Coahuila. The CDN-Los Zetas is one of six Mexican cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.

The Cartel Del Noreste faction of Los Zetas carried out two ambush-style attacks on Mexican military forces just south of the Texas border. In one of those attacks, cartel gunmen allegedly tried to kidnap two soldiers. The CDN-Los Zetas is one of six Mexican cartels designated as foreign terrorist groups by the U.S. government.

The U.S. Consulate in Tijuana sounded the alarm about a terrorist cartel attack involving explosive devices that caused various blasts near the beach hotspot of Playas de Tijuana. Mexican authorities have remained silent and have not released any information on the attack, which targeted a state police building.

A shooting at a popular mall in Cancun spread panic amongst locals who were forced to run for cover amid the sounds of gunfire.

Six cartel gunmen died in a shootout near the beach tourist hotspot of Ensenada, Baja California. The shootout comes just days after two cartel banners addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel warned that Sinaloa Cartel gunmen would be targeting U.S. citizens.

Authorities in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas confirmed that the vice-president of the state’s chamber of commerce has been reported missing in the city of Reynosa. The abduction comes a little over a year after the then president of the same chamber died at the hands of the Gulf Cartel in neighboring Matamoros after exposing the widespread extortion by the criminal organization with the help of city officials.

A group of migrants in southern Mexico clashed with immigration officials as they tried to round up women and children and take them to a shelter instead of having them spend the night in a park. The members of the caravan claim not to be headed for the U.S.-Mexico border but to Mexico City instead, with hopes of getting legal status to stay in that country.

A cartel-connected bank, once defended by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, lost its license to operate in Mexico and is in the process of selling off its assets. The move comes just months after the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned the bank and two other financial institutions for having laundered money for drug cartels and for helping move money to China to pay for fentanyl precursors.

Federal authorities filed multiple charges against a Cambodian gang member who allegedly shot a Texas woman. The Cambodian illegal alien is also wanted for a 2022 murder in California.

Cartel gunmen in Mexico put up two banners addressed to FBI Director Kash Patel and other officials from the U.S. and Mexico, threatening U.S. citizens living in the Cabo San Lucas and San Jose areas. The threats point to the U.S. getting involved in the cartel’s turf war in Sinaloa and Baja California.

A group of gunmen from the Gulf Cartel tried to kidnap three innocent women who had just flown into the Mexican border city of Reynosa on a work assignment. The Gulf Cartel has been increasing extortion and kidnapping operations in the region following the border buildup by U.S. authorities, which made it more difficult for the criminal organization to operate its traditional smuggling model. The Gulf Cartel is one of six Mexican criminal organizations designated as Foreign Terrorist Groups by the U.S. government.

A city commissioner from the Texas border city of McAllen is facing federal money laundering and smuggling charges in connection with his used clothing business. As part of the operation, authorities also arrested his wife. Law enforcement agents carried out various raids at used clothing warehouses throughout the city, where agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also arrested several migrants.

An upscale restaurant in Mexico is exposing an alleged extortion scheme by government officials in the state of Yucatan. The restaurant chain pressed charges with state authorities, claiming that government officials have been trying to extort protection fees from the restaurant.

A Mexican federal congressman denied that he was detained by U.S. authorities while trying to enter Texas and that news stories in Mexico about his detention are politically motivated. Two days later, the politician was forced to admit that he did spend approximately 12 hours at the port of entry and that he would have to renew his visa.

An employee at a district attorney’s office in South Texas will spend up to three years in federal prison for using a government vehicle to smuggle migrants.

Nearly 40 gunmen, including a U.S. citizen, are facing various charges in Mexico following a raid at a church training camp where they were allegedly preparing for the end of the world.

The U.S. National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC) revealed that a faction of Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) based in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, was murdering pregnant women to harvest their organs and sell their children to U.S. couples.

The kidnapping and murder of a Colombian musician at the hands of a Mexican cartel has sparked a political controversy between the two countries as pressure mounts to solve the case.

Senator Alejandro “Alito” Moreno, head of Mexico’s Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), publicly accused MORENA Senate Coordinator Adán Augusto López of enabling cartel operations while serving as interior secretary and governor of Tabasco. He announced Tuesday that his party had formally asked U.S. federal agencies to investigate López’s alleged role in fuel smuggling, money laundering, and organized crime.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is defending a federal lawmaker from her own political party who was sanctioned by the U.S. Department of the Treasury for alleged ties to the Sinaloa Cartel. She dismissed the accusations as unproven and insisted Mexico would not investigate unless Washington provided concrete evidence.

A new controversy spread in Mexico as two sons of the country’s former President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) are allegedly being tied to a large-scale cartel-connected fuel theft and smuggling network.