cartel

Consumer confidence is dropping. The national debt is $38 trillion and climbing like the yodeling mountain climber in that “The Price is Right” game. Donald Trump’s approval ratings are falling and the U.S. is getting more and more restless as 2025 comes to a close.

What’s a wannabe strongman to do to prop up his regime?

Attack Latin America, of course!

U.S. war planes have bombed small ships in international waters off the coast of Venezuela and Colombia since September with extrajudicial zeal. The Trump administration has claimed those vessels were packed with drugs manned by “narco-terrorists” and have released videos for each of the 10 boats-and-counting it has incinerated to make the actions seem as normal as a mission in “Call of Duty.”

“Narco-terrorists intending to bring poison to our shores, will find no safe harbor anywhere in our hemisphere,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted on social media and who just ordered an aircraft carrier currently stationed in the Mediterranean to set up shop in the Caribbean. It’ll meet up with 10,000 troops stationed there as part of one of the area’s biggest U.S. deployments in decades, all in the name of stopping a drug epidemic that has ravaged red America for the past quarter century.

This week, Trump authorized covert CIA actions in Venezuela and revealed he wants to launch strikes against land targets where his people say Latin American cartels operate. Who cares whether the host countries will give permission? Who cares about American laws that state only Congress — not the president — can declare war against our enemies?

It’s Latin America, after all.

The military buildup, bombing and threat of more in the name of liberty is one of the oldest moves in the American foreign policy playbook. For more than two centuries, the United States has treated Latin America as its personal piñata, bashing it silly for goods and not caring about the ugly aftermath.

“It is known to all that we derive [our blessings] from the excellence of our institutions,” James Monroe concluded in the 1823 speech that set forth what became known as the Monroe Doctrine, which essentially told the rest of the world to leave the Western Hemisphere to us. “Ought we not, then, to adopt every measure which may be necessary to perpetuate them?”

Our 19th century wars of expansion, official and not, won us territories where Latin Americans lived — Panamanians, Puerto Ricans, but especially Mexicans — that we ended up treating as little better than serfs. We have occupied nations for years and imposed sanctions on others. We have propped up puppets and despots and taken down democratically elected governments with the regularity of the seasons.

The culmination of all these actions were the mass migrations from Latin America that forever altered the demographics of the United States. And when those people — like my parents — came here, they were immediately subjected to a racism hard-wired into the American psyche, which then justified a Latin American foreign policy bent on domination, not friendship.

Nothing rallies this country historically like sticking it to Latinos, whether in their ancestral countries or here. We’re this country’s perpetual scapegoats and eternal invaders, with harming gringos — whether by stealing their jobs, moving into their neighborhoods, marrying their daughters or smuggling drugs — supposedly the only thing on our mind.

That’s why when Trump ran on an isolationist platform last year, he never meant the region — of course not. The border between the U.S. and Latin America has never been the fence that divides the U.S. from Mexico or our shores. It’s wherever the hell we say it is.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro Urrego addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23 at U.N. headquarters.

(Pamela Smith / Associated Press)

That’s why the Trump administration is banking on the idea that it can get away with its boat bombings and is salivating to escalate. To them, the 43 people American missile strikes have slaughtered on the open sea so far aren’t humans — and anyone who might have an iota of sympathy or doubt deserves aggression as well.

That’s why when Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused the U.S. of murder because one of the strikes killed a Colombian fisherman with no ties to cartels, Trump went on social media to lambaste Petro’s “fresh mouth,” accuse him of being a “drug leader” and warn the head of a longtime American ally he “better close up these killing fields [cartel bases] immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely.”

The only person who can turn down the proverbial temperature on this issue is Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who should know all the bad that American imperialism has wrought on Latin America. The U.S. treated his parents’ homeland of Cuba like a playground for decades, propping up one dictator after another until Cubans revolted and Fidel Castro took power. A decades-long embargo that Trump tightened upon assuming office the second time has done nothing to free the Cuban people and instead made things worse.

Instead, Rubio is the instigator. He’s pushing for regime change in Venezuela, chumming it up with self-proclaimed “world’s coolest dictator” Nayib Bukele of El Salvador and cheering on Trump’s missile attacks.

“Bottom line, these are drug boats,” Rubio told reporters recently with Trump by his side. “If people want to stop seeing drug boats blow up, stop sending drugs to the United States.”

You might ask: Who cares? Cartels are bad, drugs are bad, aren’t they? Of course. But every American should oppose every time a suspected drug boat launching from Latin America is destroyed with no questions asked and no proof offered. Because every time Trump violates yet another law or norm in the name of defending the U.S. and no one stops him, democracy erodes just a little bit more.

This is a president, after all, who seems to dream of treating his enemies, including American cities, like drug boats.

Few will care, alas. It’s Latin America, after all.

Sept. 17 (UPI) — The Trump administration has announced the unsealing of an indictment and a multimillion-dollar reward for information on the leader of a Sinaloa Cartel-linked gang, as it cracks down on the infamous narcotics trafficking organization.

Federal law enforcement accuses Juan Jose Ponce Felix, also known as El Ruso, of being the leader of Los Rusos, a Mexican gang controlling the Mexicali drug trafficking corridor and a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel.

“Ponce Felix’s organization directly manages the distribution of millions of dollars’ worth of narcotics, particularly cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin, from Mexico to the U.S.,” the Drug Enforcement Administration said in a statement, adding with proceeds sent back to Mexico.

According to the State Department, Felix is not only the leader of Los Rusos, but its founder as the primary armed wing of La Mayiza, a powerful faction of the U.S.-designated Sinaloa Cartel.

La Mayiza was co-founded by Ismael Zambada Garcia, also known as El Mayo, who pleaded guilty in the United States in late August to being the leader of the criminal enterprise.

The DEA alleges that Ponce Felix, in 2012, before he became the leader of Los Rusos, worked with Zambada Garcia, leading a “fleet of cartel soldiers” in 2012, who conducted kidnappings, hostage takings, torture and murder.

He has been charged four times in two different California districts.

Along with the unsealing of the indictment, the State Department offered a reward of $5 million for information that leads to his arrest or conviction.

“For years, Ponce Felix has resorted to kidnapping, torture and murder to maintain his grip on power,” DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said in a statement.

“This reward underscores this administration’s whole-of-government approach and unwavering commitment to destroy the Sinaloa Cartel.”

The announcement comes weeks after the DEA led a four-day domestic operation from Aug. 25 to 29, targeting the Sinaloa Cartel, which resulted in 617 arrests and the seizure of drugs, 420 firearms and more than $11 million in U.S. currency.

MEXICO CITY — Security, sovereignty, tariffs, trade, drugs and migration — all hot-button issues for the Trump administration and its neighbors in the Western Hemisphere — will top Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s agenda this week on his third trip to Latin America since becoming the chief U.S. diplomat.

In talks with leaders in Mexico and Ecuador on Wednesday and Thursday, Rubio will make the case that broader, deeper cooperation with the U.S. on those issues is vitally important to improving health, safety and security in the Americas and the Caribbean.

Yet, President Trump has alienated many in the region — far beyond the usual array of U.S. antagonists like Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela — with persistent demands, coupled with threats of sweeping tariffs and massive sanctions for not complying with his desires.

Mexico has been a focus for Trump

Mexico, the only country apart from Canada to share a border with the U.S., has been a particular target for Trump. He has demanded, and so far won, some concessions from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government, which is eager to defuse the tariff threats.

Just a few hours before Rubio’s arrival Tuesday, Sheinbaum was set to lead a meeting of the country’s most important security forum, which brings together all 32 governors, the army, navy, federal prosecutor’s office and security commanders to coordinate actions across Mexico.

Sheinbaum had been talking for weeks about how Mexico was finalizing a comprehensive security agreement with the State Department that, among other things, was supposed to include plans for a “joint investigation group” to combat the flow of fentanyl and the drug’s precursors into the U.S. and weapons from north to south.

“Under no circumstance will we accept interventions, interference or any other act from abroad that is detrimental to the integrity, independence and sovereignty of the country,” she said Monday in her State of the Nation address marking her first year in office.

Last week, however, a senior State Department official downplayed suggestions that a formal agreement — at least one that includes protections for Mexican sovereignty — was in the works.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview Rubio’s meetings, said sovereignty protections were “understood” by both countries without having to be formalized in a document.

Sheinbaum lowered her expectations Tuesday, saying during her morning news briefing that it would not be a formal agreement but rather a kind of memorandum of understanding to share information and intelligence on drug trafficking or money laundering obtained “by them in their territory, by us in our territory unless commonly agreed upon.”

Mexico’s president touts keeping close ties with the U.S.

Of her meeting with Rubio on Wednesday, she said it was always important to maintain good relations with the United States.

“There will be moments of greater tension, of less tension, of issues that we do not agree on, but we have to try to have a good relationship, and I believe tomorrow’s meeting will show that,” Sheinbaum said. “It is a relationship of respect and at the same time collaboration.”

To appease Trump, Sheinbaum has gone after Mexican cartels and their fentanyl production more aggressively than her predecessor. The government has sent the National Guard to the northern border and delivered 55 cartel figures long wanted by U.S. authorities to the Trump administration.

The Trump-Sheinbaum relationship also has been marked by tension, including the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announcing a new initiative with Mexico to combat cartels along the border that prompted an angry denial from Sheinbaum.

Despite American officials singing her praises, and constantly highlighting collaboration between the two countries, Trump glibly said last month: “Mexico does what we tell them to do.”

Migration and cartels are a focus of Rubio’s trip

In announcing the trip, the State Department said Rubio, who has already traveled twice to Latin America and the Caribbean and twice to Canada this year, would focus on stemming illegal migration, combating organized crime and drug cartels, and countering what the U.S. believes is malign Chinese behavior in its backyard.

He will show “unwavering commitment to protect [U.S.] borders, neutralize narco-terrorist threats to our homeland, and ensure a level playing field for American businesses,” the department said.

Rubio’s first foreign trip as secretary of state was to Panama, El Salvador, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, during which he assailed Chinese influence over the Panama Canal and sealed deals with the others to accept immigrant deportees from the United States. Rubio later traveled to Jamaica, Guyana and Suriname.

The senior State Department official said virtually every country in Latin America is now accepting the return of their nationals being deported from the U.S. and, with the exception of Nicaragua, most have stepped up their actions against drug cartels, many of which have been designated foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S.

The official also said progress has been made in countering China in the Western Hemisphere.

Lee and Janetsky write for the Associated Press. AP writer María Verza in Mexico City contributed to this report.

Two more US ships said to join amphibious squadron due to arrive off coast of Venezuela in anti-drug cartel operation.

Venezuela has announced the deployment of 15,000 troops to its border with Colombia to fight drug trafficking, as the United States was reported to have sent two additional navy ships to the southern Caribbean as part of an operation against Latin American drug cartels.

Venezuelan Minister of the Popular Power for Interior Diosdado Cabello announced on Monday that Caracas would deploy 15,000 troops to bolster security in Zulia and Tachira states, which border Colombia.

“Here, we do fight drug trafficking; here, we do fight drug cartels on all fronts,” the minister said, while also announcing the seizure of 53 tonnes of drugs so far this year.

Cabello said the increased security on the border with Colombia, to “combat criminal groups”, would also involve aircraft, drones and riverine security, according to local media outlet Noticias Venevision, as he called on Colombian authorities to do the same to “ensure peace along the entire axis”.

The reinforcement of Venezuelan troops on the Colombian border comes after the Trump administration accused Venezuela’s left-wing president, Nicolas Maduro, of being involved in cocaine trafficking and working with drug cartels.

Officials in Washington, DC, have accused both Maduro and Cabello of working with the Cartel de los Soles (“Cartel of the Suns”) drug trafficking organisation, which Washington has designated a terrorist group.

The accusations were made as the US announced last week that it had doubled a reward to $50m for the capture of Maduro on drug charges. The US earlier this year increased a reward for Cabello’s arrest or prosecution from $10m to $25m.

Maduro has accused the US of attempting to foment regime change in Venezuela, and launched a nationwide drive to sign up thousands of militia members to strengthen national security in the country amid the threats from Washington.

“I am confident that we will overcome this test that life has imposed on us, this imperialist threat to the peace of the continent and to our country,” Maduro was quoted as saying in local media on Monday.

The Reuters news agency also reported on Monday that the USS Lake Erie, a guided missile cruiser, and the USS Newport News, a nuclear-powered fast attack submarine, will arrive in the southern Caribbean by early next week.

Citing two sources briefed on the deployment, Reuters said the missile cruiser and attack submarine would join the US amphibious squadron that was due to arrive off the coast of Venezuela on Sunday.

The squadron includes the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima and USS Fort Lauderdale, and is said to be carrying 4,500 US service members, including 2,200 Marines, according to reports.

Trump has made the targeting of Latin American drug cartels a central focus of his administration, and has designated Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and other drug gangs, including Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua, as global terrorist organisations.

HERMOSILLO, Mexico — A judge in Mexico said boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. will stand trial over alleged cartel ties and arms trafficking but could await that trial outside of detention, the boxer’s lawyer said.

Chávez’s lawyer, Rubén Fernando Benítez Alvarez, confirmed that the court imposed additional measures and granted three months of further investigation into the case. He described the claims against his client as “speculation” and “urban legends” following the court hearing Saturday in the northern Mexican city of Hermosillo.

If convicted, Chávez — who took part in the hearing virtually from a detention facility — could face a prison sentence of four to eight years, Alvarez said.

Chávez, 39, who had been living in the United States for several years, was arrested in early July by federal agents outside his Los Angeles home, accused of overstaying his visa and providing inaccurate details on an application to obtain a green card. The arrest came just days after a fight he had with famed American boxer Jake Paul in Los Angeles.

Since 2019, Mexican prosecutors have been investigating the boxer following a complaint filed by U.S. authorities against the Sinaloa cartel for organized crime, human trafficking, arms trafficking and drug trafficking.

The case led to investigations against 13 people, among them Ovidio Guzmán López — the son of convicted drug lord Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán — along with some alleged collaborators, hit men and accomplices of the criminal organization. Guzmán López was arrested in January 2023 and extradited to the U.S. eight months later.

Following the inquiry, the federal attorney general’s office issued several arrest warrants, including one for Chávez.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that Chávez was wanted since 2023 in Mexico but that he wasn’t detained because he spent most of the time in the U.S.

“The hope is that he will be deported and serve the sentence in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said in July.

The boxer, who is the son of Mexican boxing great Julio César Chávez, was deported by the U.S. on Tuesday and handed over to agents of the federal attorney general’s office in Sonora state, who transferred him to the Federal Social Reintegration Center in Hermosillo.

The high-profile case comes as the Trump administration is pressuring Mexico to crack down on organized crime, canceling visas of notable Mexican artists and celebrities and ramping up deportations.

Chávez has struggled with drug addiction throughout his career and has been arrested multiple times. In 2012, he was found guilty of driving under the influence in Los Angeles and was sentenced to 13 days in jail.

He was arrested last year on suspicion of weapons possession. Police reported that Chávez had two rifles. He was released shortly afterward upon posting $50,000 bail, on the condition that he attend a facility to receive treatment for his addiction.

Téllez writes for the Associated Press.

Three US warships to be stationed off the coast of Venezuela in so-called fight against ‘narco-terrorists’, according to reports.

Three United States warships ordered to deploy off the coast of Venezuela by US President Donald Trump could arrive by the weekend, according to reports, as Washington sends its military to curb drug trafficking by Latin American crime cartels.

The reported deployment of the warships comes as the Trump administration increases pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, after recently doubling a reward for his arrest to $50m on what the US claims are drug offences linked to cocaine trafficking.

Sources told the Reuters and AFP news agencies on Wednesday that an amphibious squadron consisting of three US Aegis-class guided missile destroyers is heading to the waters off Venezuela and could arrive as early as Sunday.

Two sources briefed on the deployment, and speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that the USS San Antonio, USS Iwo Jima and USS Fort Lauderdale are moving towards the Venezuelan coast and are carrying 4,500 US service members, including 2,200 Marines.

The sources declined to detail the specific mission of the squadron. But they have said that recent deployments are aimed at addressing threats to US national security from specially designated “narco-terrorist” organisations in the region.

Maduro said on Monday that he would be deploying millions of militia members across Venezuela in response to US “threats”, which included the reward for his arrest and the launch of a new anti-drug operation in the Caribbean.

“This week, I will activate a special plan with more than 4.5 million militiamen to ensure coverage of the entire national territory – militias that are prepared, activated and armed,” Maduro said in a televised address.

Washington has accused Maduro of leading the Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) cocaine trafficking gang.

The US Department of the Treasury designated the cartel as a global terrorist organisation last month, accusing it of supporting the Venezuelan crime group Tren de Aragua and Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartels, which were also designated foreign terrorist organisations earlier this year.

“President Trump has been very clear and consistent, he’s prepared to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country and to bring those responsible to justice,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday.

“Maduro, it is the view of this administration, is not a legitimate president; he is a fugitive head of this cartel who has been indicted in the United States for trafficking drugs into this country,” Leavitt said.

Al Jazeera’s Latin America editor, Lucia Newman, reports that Maduro has ordered the grounding of all aerial drones for the next 30 days, “an indication that he might be expecting an attack from the air rather than sea”.

“President Trump’s vow to send warships to the Caribbean and elsewhere in Latin America to stop the flow of drugs to the United States is being seen as more than just a threat to Venezuela. It could apply to many, many countries in this region,” Newman said.

“They say today it may be Venezuela, tomorrow it could be any one of them,” Newman said.

Many in the region are also wondering why Trump has chosen to implement “such an aggressive move in the United States’ backyard while he portrays himself as a global peacemaker”.

MEXICO CITY — The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions Wednesday on more than a dozen Mexican companies and four people it says worked with a powerful drug trafficking cartel to scam elderly Americans in a multimillion-dollar timeshare fraud.

The network of 13 businesses in areas near the seaside tourist destination of Puerto Vallarta were accused of working with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a group designated by the U.S. government as a foreign terrorist organization.

In a scheme dating back to 2012, four cartel associates are accused of defrauding American citizens of their life savings through elaborate rental and resale schemes, according to a Treasury statement. In the span of six months, officials said they were able to document $23.1 million sent from mostly people in the U.S. to scammers in Mexico.

The sanctions imposed by the administration of President Trump would prohibit Americans from doing business with the alleged cartel associates and block any of their assets in the U.S.

“We will continue our effort to completely eradicate the cartels’ ability to generate revenue, including their efforts to prey on elderly Americans through timeshare fraud,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

In past years, the administration of then-President Biden also sanctioned associates and accountants related to such schemes.

The Wednesday announcement was made amid an ongoing effort by the Trump administration and the Mexican government to crack down on cartels and their diverse sources of income.

The U.S. Treasury Department has slapped sanctions on a variety of people from a Mexican rapper who it accused of laundering cartel money to Mexican banks facilitating money transfers in sales of precursor chemicals used to produce fentanyl.

The announcement also came one day after Mexico sent 26 high-ranking cartel figures to the U.S. in the latest major deal with the Trump administration as Mexico tries to avoid threatened tariffs.

Aug. 13 (UPI) — The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned four Mexican nationals and 12 companies in Mexico linked to a “brutally violent” cartel involved in a timeshare fraud of resorts in Puerto Vallarta.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization “that is increasingly supplementing its drug trafficking proceeds with alternative revenue streams such as timeshare fraud and fuel theft.”

Sanctions include blocking all U.S. property owned by the people and the companies named, and the assets must be reported to OFAC. Violations may include civil and criminal penalties.

The agency is reminding current timeshare owners in Mexico: “If an unsolicited purchase or rental offer seems too good to be true, it probably is. Those considering the purchase of a timeshare in Mexico should conduct appropriate due diligence.”

The FBI has a timeshare fraud resource page.

Victims of timeshare fraud can file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Complaint Center. Elderly customers can contact the Department of Justice’s National Elder Fraud Hotline.

Timeshares are fractional ownership for a vacation property, often one week a year, that are not considered an investment and often are tough to resell.

There are 56 timeshare developments in Puerto Vallarta on Mexico’s Pacific coast, a popular tourist destination that includes beaches, nightlife and cultural attractions. There are 578,000 residents.

“We are coming for terrorist drug cartels like Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion that are flooding our country with fentanyl,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said. “These cartels continue to create new ways to generate revenue to fuel their terrorist operations. At President Trump’s direction, we will continue our effort to completely eradicate the cartels’ ability to generate revenue, including their efforts to prey on elderly Americans through timeshare fraud.”

Approximately 6,000 U.S. victims reported losing nearly $300 million between 2019 and 2023 in timeshare fraud in Mexico, according to the FBI. In 2024, there were 900 complaints with reported losses of more than $50 million.

Beginning in 2012, the Treasury Department said the cartel took control of timeshare fraud schemes in Puerto Vallarta in Jalisco and the surrounding area.

“These complex scams often target older Americans who can lose their life savings,” the release said. “The lifecycle of these scams can last years, resulting in financial and emotional devastation of the victims while enriching cartels like CJNG.”

After information on timeshare owners is received, call center personnel claim to be U.S.-based third-party brokers, attorneys or sales representatives.

Fraud may include timeshare resale, re-rent and investment scams. People are asked to pay advance “fees” and “taxes” via international wire transfers to accounts at Mexican banks and brokerage houses before receiving money supposedly owed to them, the Treasury Department said.

The money never comes to the consumers and they are told to pay more “fees” and “taxes.”

Then they may be further victimized when impersonated law firms claim they can initiate proceedings to recover lost funds. Sometimes, government officials are impersonated, claiming the victims have been involved in suspicious transactions with more “fees” required to release the funds or risk prison time.

The Treasury Department said it had blocked all property and interests in property of the persons named, or in possession or control of U.S. people. This also applies to entities owned at least 50% by one of more blocked people.

In addition, Americans are not allowed to be involved in the property of people blocked.

And secondary penalties may be imposed on participating foreign financial institutions.

The Treasury Department listed three senior cartel members most involved in the fraud, who “orchestrate assassinations of rivals and politicians using high-powered weaponry.” They are Julio Cesar Montero Pinzon (Montero), Carlos Andres Rivera Varela (Rivera), and Francisco Javier Gudino Haro (Gudino).

Five companies “explicitly acknowledge their involvement in the timeshare industry” are Akali Realtors, Centro Mediador De La Costa, S.A. de C.V., Corporativo Integral De La Costa, S.A. de C.V., Corporativo Costa Norte, S.A. de C.V. and Sunmex Travel, S. de R.L. De C.V. They “explicitly acknowledge their involvement in the timeshare industry.” Other companies were involved involved in timeshare-related transactions or involvement in real estate activities.

The extradition agreement comes as Mexico continues to cooperate with the Trump administration despite its tariff threats.

Mexico has expelled 26 alleged high-ranking cartel members to the United States, in its latest deal with the administration of President Donald Trump.

The transfer was confirmed by a joint statement from the Mexican attorney general’s office and its security ministry on Tuesday.

The statement said that the US Justice Department had sought the extradition and that it had given guarantees that the death penalty would not be levied against any of those prosecuted.

The transfer comes as the Trump administration continues to exert pressure on Mexico to take more action against criminal gangs involved in drug smuggling and human trafficking.

Part of that pressure campaign has come in the form of tariffs, with certain Mexican exports to the US now taxed at a higher rate.

Trump has described the import tax as necessary to hold Mexico “accountable” for the “extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs”.

In response, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has struck a careful balance when dealing with Trump, cooperating on some security issues, while drawing clear lines when it comes to her country’s sovereignty. That has included vehemently opposing any US military intervention on Mexican soil.

Still, US media reported last week that Trump has secretly signed an order directing the military to take action against drug-smuggling cartels and other criminal groups from Latin America, which could presage the deployment of US forces both domestically and abroad.

The move on Tuesday was the second time in recent months that Mexico has expelled alleged criminal gang members wanted by the US.

In February, Mexico extradited 29 alleged cartel figures, including Rafael Caro Quintero, who is accused of killing a US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent in 1985.

That deal came as Trump threatened to impose blanket 25-percent tariffs on Mexican imports, but the scope of that tariff threat was later pared down.

Currently, the US imposes a 25-percent tariff on Mexican-made cars and products not covered under a pre-existing free trade accord, the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Mexico also faces a 50-percent tax on its steel, aluminium and copper products.

But at the end of July, Trump agreed to extend a tariff exemption for goods that fall under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement for 90 days.

The Associated Press news agency reported that Abigael González Valencia, the leader of “Los Cuinis”, a drug-trafficking group closely aligned with the notorious Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG), was among those expelled to the US in the latest deal.

The Trump administration took the unorthodox move of designating the CJNG and seven other Latin American crime groups as “foreign terrorist organisations” upon taking office.

Valencia is the brother-in-law of CJNG leader Nemesio Ruben “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, who is considered one of the most wanted people in Mexico and the US.

Valencia was arrested in February 2015 in Mexico and had since been fighting extradition to the US.

Another individual, Roberto Salazar, stands accused of participating in the 2008 killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, a source told the news agency.

Federal authorities in the United States revealed Tuesday that they will not seek the death penalty against three reputed Mexican drug cartel leaders, including an alleged former partner of the infamous “El Chapo” and the man accused of orchestrating the killing of a Drug Enforcement Administration agent.

Court filings showed decisions handed down in the trio of prosecutions, all being held in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The cases involve drug and conspiracy charges against Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, 75, charged with running a powerful faction of Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel; Rafael Caro Quintero, 72, who allegedly masterminded the DEA agent’s torture and murder in 1985; and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, 62, also known as El Viceroy, who is under indictment as the ex-boss of the Juarez cartel.

Prosecutors from the Eastern District of New York filed a letter in each case “to inform the Court and the defense that the Attorney General has authorized and directed this Office not to seek the death penalty.”

The decision comes despite calls by President Trump use capital punishment against drug traffickers and the U.S. government ratcheting up pressure against Mexico to dismantle organized crime groups and to staunch the flow of fentanyl and other illicit drugs across the border.

A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It’s rare for the death penalty to be in play against high-level Mexican cartel figures. Mexico long ago abolished capital punishment and typically extradites its citizens on the condition they are spared death.

In Zambada’s case, the standard restrictions did not apply because he was not extradited. Zambada was brought to the U.S. last July by a son of his longtime associate, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. Zambada alleges he was ambushed and kidnapped in Sinaloa by Joaquín Guzmán López, who forced him onto an airplane bound for a small airport outside El Paso, Texas.

Zambada has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him and remains jailed in Brooklyn while his case proceeds. A court filing in June said prosecutors and the defense had “discussed the potential for a resolution short of trial,” suggesting plea negotiations are underway.

Frank Perez, the lawyer representing Zambada, issued a statement Tuesday to The Times that said: “We welcome the government’s decision not to pursue the death penalty against our client. This marks an important step toward achieving a fair and just resolution.”

Federal authorities announced in May that Guzmán López, 39, an accused leader of the Sinaloa cartel faction known as “Los Chapitos,” would also not face the death penalty. He faces an array of drug smuggling and conspiracy charges in a case pending before the federal court in Chicago.

Another son of El Chapo, Ovidio Guzmán López, 35, pleaded guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and firearms charge last month in Chicago. Court filings show he has agreed to cooperate with U.S. authorities in other investigations.

Caro Quintero and Carrillo Fuentes were two of the biggest names among a group of 29 men handed over by Mexico to the U.S. in February. The unusual mass transfer was conducted outside the typical extradition process, which left open the possibility of the death penalty.

Reputed to be a founding member of Mexico’s powerful Guadalajara cartel in the 1980s, Caro Quintero is allegedly responsible for the brutal slaying of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena 40 years ago.

The killing, portrayed on the Netlfix show “Narcos: Mexico” and recounted in many books and documentaries, led to a fierce response by U.S. authorities, but Caro Quintero managed to elude justice for decades. Getting him on U.S. soil was portrayed a major victory by Trump administration officials.

Derek Maltz, the DEA chief in February, said in a statement that Caro Quintero had “unleashed violence, destruction, and death across the United States and Mexico, has spent four decades atop DEA’s most wanted fugitives list.”

Carrillo Fuentes is perhaps best known as the younger brother of another Mexican drug trafficker, Amado Carrillo Fuentes, the legendary “Lord of the Skies,” who died in 1997. Once close to El Chapo, El Mayo and other Sinaloa cartel leaders, the younger Carrillo Funtes split off to form his own cartel in the city of Juárez, triggering years of bloody cartel warfare.

Kenneth J. Montgomery, the lawyer for Carrillo Fuentes, said Tuesday his client was “extremely grateful” for the government’s decision not to seek the death penalty.”I thought it was the right decision,” he said. “In a civilized society, I don’t think the death penalty should ever be an option.”

Trump has been an ardent supporter of capital punishment. In January, he signed an order that directs the attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to ensure that states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions.

Trump’s order directed the attorney general to pursue the death penalty in cases that involve the killing of law enforcement officers, among other factors. For years, Trump has loudly called for executing convicted drug traffickers. He reiterated the call for executions again in 2022 when announcing his intent to run again for president.

“We’re going to be asking [that] everyone who sells drugs, gets caught selling drugs, to receive the death penalty for their heinous acts,” Trump said.

Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi lifted a moratorium on federal executions in February, reversing a policy that began under the Biden administration. In April, Bondi announced intentions to seek the death penalty against Luigi Mangione, the man charged with assassinating a UnitedHealthcare executive in New York City.

Bonnie Klapper, a former federal narcotics prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York, reacted with surprise upon learning that the Trump administration had decided not to pursue capital cases against the accused kingpins, particularly Caro Quintero.

Klapper, who is now a defense attorney, speculated that Mexico is strongly opposed to executions of its citizens and officials may have exerted diplomatic pressure to spare the lives of the three men, perhaps offering to send more kingpins in the future.

“While my initial reaction is one of shock given this administration’s embrace of the death penalty, perhaps there’s conversations taking place behind the scenes in which Mexico has said, ‘If you want more of these, you can’t ask to kill any of our citizens.’”

July 3 (UPI) — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested former middleweight world champion boxer Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Wednesday in Studio City, Calif., due to alleged cartel ties.

Chavez “has an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition and explosives,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a news release on Thursday.

“It is shocking the previous administration flagged this criminal illegal alien as a public safety threat, but chose not to prioritize his removal and let him leave and come back into our country,” said Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

“Under President Trump, no one is above the law — including world-famous athletes.”

DHS accuses Chavez of being a “criminal illegal alien” and said the Biden administration determined he was not an immigration enforcement priority despite knowing he had been “flagged as a public safety threat.”

Chavez legally entered the country on a tourist visa in August 2023 and is “believed to be an affiliate of the Sinaloa Cartel,” which is a designated foreign terrorist organization, according to the DHS.

The tourist visa expired in February 2025, and Chavez on April 2, 2024, filed an application to become a lawful permanent resident.

His application is based on being married to a U.S. citizen, who DHS says is connected to the Sinaloa Cartel through the now-dead son of cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman.

DHS officials said Chavez made “multiple fraudulent statements” on the application, determined he illegally was in the United States and was removable as of Friday.

Officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in December had notified ICE that Chavez “is an egregious public threat.”

Despite the notice, the Biden administration on Jan. 3 allowed Chavez to re-enter and paroled him into the country at the San Ysidro, Calif., port of entry.

While in the United States, Chavez was arrested, charged and convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and driving without a license in 2012.

A district judge in 2023 issued an arrest warrant for Chavez for alleged organized criminal activities involving firearms, ammunition and explosives, according to DHS.

He also was arrested on Jan. 7, 2024, by Los Angeles Police and charged with illegal possession of an assault weapon and manufacture of a short-barreled rifle.

Chavez lost a cruiserweight boxing match against Jake Paul by unanimous decision on Saturday.

United States immigration agents have detained prominent Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez Jr. and are working to deport him, with officials saying he has “an active arrest warrant in Mexico for his involvement in organized crime and trafficking firearms, ammunition, and explosives.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials arrested Chávez, 39, in Studio City on Wednesday and are processing him for expedited removal from the U.S., according to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE.

A Homeland Security news release said Chávez had been flagged as a public safety threat, but “the Biden administration indicated in internal records he was not an immigration enforcement priority.”

Last year in January, officials said, the Los Angeles Police Department arrested Chávez and he was charged with illegal possession of an assault weapon and manufacture or import of a short barreled rifle. He was later convicted of the charges.

Chávez’s manager, Sean Gibbons, told The Times they are currently “working on a few issues” following the boxer’s arrest but had no further comment.

Michael A. Goldstein, a lawyer who has worked with Chávez in previous cases, said his client “was detained outside of his residence by 25 or more ICE and other law enforcement agents.”

“They blocked off his street and took him into custody leaving his family without any knowledge of his whereabouts,” Goldstein said. “The current allegations are outrageous and appear to be designed as a headline to terrorize the community. Mr. Chavez is not a threat to the community.”

The son of Mexican boxing legend Julio César Chávez, widely regarded as the greatest boxer in his country’s history, Chávez Jr. faced off on Saturday against influencer-turned-fighter Jake Paul and lost.

Two weeks before the Anaheim bout against Paul, Chávez held a public workout in Maywood, where he spoke to The Times. He revealed that one of his trainers had skipped the training session out of fear of immigration enforcement.

“I was even scared, to tell you the truth. It’s very ugly,” Chávez said. “I don’t understand the situation — why so much violence? There are a lot of good people, and you’re giving the community an example of violence. I’m from Sinaloa, where things are really ugly, and to come here, to such a beautiful country with everything… and see Trump attacking immigrants, Latinos, for no reason. Not being with God makes you think you know everything. Trump made a bad decision.”

He added: “After everything that’s happened, I wouldn’t want to be deported.”

When U.S. officials announced the arrest Thursday, they referred to Chávez as an “affiliate of the Sinaloa cartel.” The Trump administration has designated the Mexican drug trafficking group as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.”

“Under President Trump, no one is above the law — including world-famous athletes,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.

According to the Homeland Security news release, Chávez entered the country legally in August 2023, with a B2 tourist visa that was valid until February 2024. He had filed an application for lawful permanent resident status last year in April, officials said, based on his marriage to Frida Muñoz, a U.S. citizen, who U.S. officials said “is connected to the Sinaloa cartel through a prior relationship with the now-deceased son of the infamous cartel leader Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.”

El Chapo, a known fan of Chávez Sr. during his fighting days, is now serving a life sentence in U.S. federal prison after a 2019 conviction for his leadership role in the Sinaloa cartel.

Muñoz was previously in a relationship with Edgar Guzmán Loera, El Chapo’s eldest son, who was killed in Sinaloa in 2008.

The couple had a daughter, Frida Sofía Guzmán Muñoz. Following Edgar’s death, Muñoz distanced herself from the family and moved to the United States, eventually beginning a relationship with Chávez. Their daughter, Frida Sofía, has recently launched a music career and frequently attends her stepfather’s fights, including the most recent fight in Anaheim.

Chávez has faced criticism over alleged associations with figures linked to drug trafficking. In lengthy social media videos, he has claimed friendship with Ovidio Guzmán, another son of El Chapo who court records show has agreed to plead guilty to federal drug trafficking charges in Chicago.

Last year, on Dec. 17, according to the Homeland Security news release, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services made a referral to ICE that Chávez was “an egregious public safety threat.”

“However, an entry in a DHS law enforcement system under the Biden administration indicated Chávez was not an immigration enforcement priority,” the release stated.

According to the release, Chávez was allowed to reenter the country on Jan. 4 at the San Ysidro port of entry.

“Following multiple fraudulent statements on his application to become a Lawful Permanent Resident, he was determined to be in the country illegally and removable on June 27,” the Homeland Security release stated.

Chávez has been in the boxing spotlight since childhood, often walking to the ring alongside his father. He began his professional career in 2003 and reached the pinnacle in 2011 when he won the WBC middleweight title against Sebastian Zbik. He defended the belt three times before losing it to Sergio Martínez in 2012.

However, his career has been plagued by discipline issues, substance abuse, and struggles with making weight. In 2017, he faced fellow Mexican star Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez, suffering a lopsided unanimous decision loss that marked a turning point in his career’s decline.

Nicknamed “El Hijo de la Leyenda” (“Son of the Legend”) or simply “JR,” Chávez Jr. has had legal and personal troubles in recent years. He was arrested on suspicion of weapons possession and later entered a residential rehab facility. His battle with addiction has frequently played out in the public eye, including viral social media disputes with his father, one of his most vocal critics, yet also his most steadfast supporter.

According to Homeland Security, Chávez was convicted in 2012 of driving under the influence of alcohol and was sentenced to 13 days in jail and 36 months of probation.

Goldstein, Chávez’s lawyer, noted that his client is a public figure who has been living and working in the U.S. without issue in recent weeks. Goldstein pointed to his recent fight, saying, “His workouts were open to the public and afforded law enforcement countless opportunities to contact him if he was indeed a public threat.”

“He has been focused on his own personal growth and mental health,” Goldstein said. “He is in full compliance with his mental health diversion and all court obligations. For this reason, we fully expect his only pending case to be dismissed as required by statute.”

In 2023, according to Homeland Security, a judge in Mexico issued an arrest warrant for Chávez “for the offense of organized crime for the purpose of committing crimes of weapons trafficking and manufacturing crimes.”

The release said the warrant was for “those who participate in clandestinely bringing weapons, ammunition, cartridges, explosives into the country; and those who manufacture weapons, ammunition, cartridges, and explosives without the corresponding permit.”

Mexican authorities, who typically do not reveal the full names of suspects in criminal cases, said Thursday that federal prosecutors had issued an arrest warrant for Julio “C” in March 2023 for organized crime and arms trafficking. A news release from Mexico’s equivalent of the attorney general’s office said U.S. officials had started the process of turning him over to face justice.

Mexico City bureau chief Patrick J. McDonnell contributed to this report.

Mexican Finance Ministry says it has not received evidence to support claims against CIBanco, Intercam and Vector banks.

The United States has imposed sanctions on three Mexican banks, alleging they had been used to launder money for drug cartels.

On Wednesday, the US Department of the Treasury tied the banks – CIBanco, Intercam Banco and Vector Casa de Bolsa – to the cross-border trafficking of the deadly synthetic drug fentanyl.

It accused them of playing “a longstanding and vital role in laundering millions of dollars on behalf of Mexico-based cartels and facilitating payments for the procurement of precursor chemicals needed to produce fentanyl”.

The sanctions are part of a wider pressure campaign by the administration of US President Donald Trump against Latin American gangs, criminal networks and drug traffickers.

That campaign has included designating several groups as “foreign terrorist organisations” and using tariffs to pressure Mexico’s government to increase enforcement of irregular traffic across the border.

In a statement, the Treasury Department said the banks were the first to be targeted under new pieces of legislation – the Fentanyl Sanctions Act and the FEND Off Fentanyl Act – passed to expand its ability to target money laundering related to opioid trafficking.

The sanctions would block transfers between the targeted Mexican banks and US banks, although it was not immediately clear how far-reaching the limits would be.

In a statement, Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent accused the banks of “enabling the poisoning of countless Americans by moving money on behalf of cartels, making them vital cogs in the fentanyl supply chain”.

But Mexico’s Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit responded to the sanctions by saying it had yet to receive conclusive evidence justifying them.

“We want to be clear: If we have conclusive information proving illicit activities by these three financial institutions, we will act to the fullest extent of the law,” the Finance Ministry said.

“However, to date, we have no information in this regard.”

CIBanco did not immediately respond to the allegations. The US Treasury Department accused it of being connected to money laundering by the Beltran-Leyva Cartel, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Gulf Cartel.

Intercam, which is also accused of having connections to the CJNG cartel, also did not respond.

Meanwhile, the brokerage firm Vector, which was linked to money laundering by the Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel, said the US claims tying its operations to drug traffickers were false.

“Vector categorically rejects any accusation that compromises its institutional integrity,” the company said in a statement, adding that it would cooperate to clarify the situation.

WASHINGTON — A close ally of fugitive Jalisco New Generation boss known as “El Mencho” for years orchestrated a prolific drug trafficking operation, using a semi-submersible and other methods to avoid detection, and provided weapons to one of Mexico’s most powerful cartels, prosecutors say.

On Friday, José González Valencia was sentenced in Washington’s federal court to 30 years in a U.S. prison following his 2017 arrest at a beach resort in Brazil while vacationing with his family under a fake name.

González Valencia, 49, known as “Chepa,” along with his two brothers, led a group called “Los Cuinis” that financed the drug trafficking operations of Jalisco New Generation, or CJNG — the violent cartel recently designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump administration. His brother-in-law is CJNG leader Nemesio Rubén “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, whom for years has been sought by the U.S. government.

Meanwhile, El Mencho’s son-in-law, Cristian Fernando Gutiérrez Ochoa, appeared in the same courtroom earlier Friday to plead guilty in a separate case to a money laundering conspiracy charge. Gutiérrez Ochoa was arrested toward the end of the Biden administration last year in California, where authorities have said he was living under a bogus name after faking his own death and fleeing Mexico.

Together, the prosecutions reflect the U.S. government’s efforts to weaken the brutal CJNG cartel that’s responsible for importing staggering amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl into the U.S. — and track down its elusive leader. The Trump administration has sought to turn up the pressure on CJNG and other cartels with the foreign terrorist organization designation, which gives authorities new tools to prosecute those associated with cartels.

“You can’t totally prosecute your way out of the cartel problem, but you can make an actual impact by letting people know that we’re going to be enforcing this and showing that Mexico is being cooperative with us and then ultimately trying to get high-level targets to sort of set the organization back,” Matthew Galeotti, who lead the Justice Department’s criminal division, said in an interview with the Associated Press.

Trump’s Justice Department has declared dismantling CJNG and other cartels a top priority, and Galetotti said the U.S. in recent months has seen increased cooperation from Mexican officials. In February, Mexico sent 29 cartel figures — including drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero, who was behind the killing of a U.S. DEA agent in 1985 — to the U.S. for prosecution.

The Trump administration has already charged a handful of defendants with terrorism offenses since designating CJNG and seven other Latin American crime organizations as foreign terrorist organizations in February. Galeotti said several additional indictments related to CJNG and other cartels remain under seal.

“We are taking a division-wide approach to this,” Galeotti said. “We’ve got money laundering prosecutors who are not just focused on the cartels themselves … but also on financial facilitators. So when we’re taking this broad approach … that’s why I think we’ve had some of the really significant cases that we’ve had, and we’ve seen a very significant pipeline.”

González Valencia pleaded guilty to international cocaine trafficking in 2022. Authorities say he went into hiding in Bolivia in 2015 after leading Los Cuinis alongside his brothers for more than a decade. He was arrested in 2017 under the first Trump administration after traveling to Brazil, and was later extradited to the U.S.

Los Cuinis used “air, land, sea, and under-the-sea methods” to smuggle drugs bound for the U.S., prosecutors say. In one instance, authorities say González Valencia invested in a shipment of 4,000 kilograms of cocaine that was packed in a semi-submersible vessel to travel from Colombia to Guatemala. Other methods employed by Los Cuinis include hiding drugs in frozen shark carcasses, prosecutors say. He’s also accused of directing the killing of a rival.

He appeared in court wearing an orange jumpsuit and listened to the hearing through an interpreter over headphones. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell sealed part of the hearing, keeping the press and public out of the courtroom while lawyers argued over the sentence. It was not clear why the judge determined it had to be sealed. González Valencia’s lawyer declined to comment after the hearing.

In the other case, Gutiérrez Ochoa was wanted in Mexico on allegations that he kidnapped two Mexican Navy members in 2021 in the hopes of securing the release of El Mencho’s wife after she had been arrested by Mexican authorities, prosecutors have said. Authorities have said he faked his own death and fled to the U.S. to avoid Mexican authorities, and El Mencho told associates that he killed Gutiérrez Ochoa for lying.

El Mencho’s son, Rubén Oseguera — known as “El Menchito” — was sentenced in March to life in prison after his conviction in Washington’s federal court of conspiring to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine for U.S. importation and using a firearm in a drug conspiracy.

Richer writes for the Associated Press.

The Trump administration says the cartel is responsible for a significant share of fentanyl entering the country.

The United States has imposed sanctions against five leaders of a Mexican drug cartel for killings, including the prime suspect in the murder of Mexican influencer Valeria Marquez, and drug trafficking, the US Department of the Treasury has said.

The sanctions levied on Wednesday target the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), which the Trump administration says is responsible for a significant share of fentanyl and other illegal drugs entering the US.

The cartel is said to use murder, including the targeted killing of women, as a weapon of intimidation against its rivals.

“The vicious attack highlights the brutal prevalence of femicide, or the killing of women on account of their gender, in Mexico. Femicide often goes unpunished and affects a significant portion of Mexico’s women,”  the Treasury Department said in a statement.

In February, the Trump administration designated CJNG as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” and “Specially Designated Global Terrorist.”

The cartel is led by Nemesio Ruben “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, who was among the five leaders named on Wednesday. The US authorities have offered a $15m reward for information leading to his capture.

A cartel commander closely linked to him, Ricardo Ruiz Velasco, was also sanctioned.

Ruiz has been identified as the prime suspect in the murder of his purported romantic partner, TikTok influencer Marquez, the Treasury Department said.

Marquez, 23, was killed in May in the beauty salon where she worked in the city of Zapopan by a man who entered and shot her as she livestreamed a video on TikTok, the Jalisco state prosecutor said.

Other leaders sanctioned include Julio Alberto Castillo Rodriguez, Gonzalo Mendoza Gaytan and Audias Flores Silva, according to the Treasury Department statement.

Relatives of five members of the band Fugitivo, aged between 20 and 40, received ransom demands after their abduction.

Drug cartel members are suspected of murdering five Mexican band members, who went missing after being hired to perform a concert in a crime-ridden city in the northeast of the country.

The Diario de Mexico newspaper said on Thursday that the bodies of the five musicians had been discovered after they went missing on Sunday, and nine suspects were arrested in connection with their abduction and killing.

According to authorities, the nine suspects are part of the “Los Metros” faction of the Gulf Cartel, which operates in the city of Reynosa, in Tamaulipas state, near the United States border.

“Law enforcement arrested nine individuals considered likely responsible for the events. They are known to be members of a criminal cell of the Gulf Cartel,” Tamaulipas Attorney General Irving Barrios told a news conference.

Tamaulipas is considered one of Mexico’s most dangerous states due to the presence of cartel members involved in drug and migrant trafficking, as well as other crimes, including extortion.

The announcement of the arrests came hours after officials said five bodies had been found in the search for the men, who were members of a local band called Fugitivo.

The musicians were hired to put on a concert on Sunday but arrived to find that the location of their proposed performance was a vacant lot, according to family members who had held a protest urging the authorities to act.

Relatives had reported receiving ransom demands for the musicians, who were aged between 20 and 40 years old.

Mexican musicians have been targeted previously by cartel members amid rivalry, as some receive payment to compose and perform songs that glorify the exploits of gang leaders.

Investigators used video surveillance footage and mobile phone tracking to establish the musicians’ last movements, Barrios said.

Nine firearms and two vehicles were seized, he said.

More than 480,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence and organised crime, and about 120,000 people have gone missing, in Mexico.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has accused a Mexican woman of furnishing a cartel with grenades and other weapons.

The United States has revealed the first federal charges against a foreign national for providing material support to one of the criminal groups that President Donald Trump has designated a “foreign terrorist organisation”.

On Friday, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a statement identifying the suspect as 39-year-old Maria Del Rosario Navarro-Sanchez of Mexico.

An unsealed indictment accused Navarro-Sanchez of furnishing the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG), a Mexican drug cartel, with grenades and helping it smuggle migrants, firearms, money and drugs.

“Cartels like CJNG are terrorist groups that wreak havoc in American communities and are responsible for countless lives lost in the United States, Mexico and elsewhere,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in the statement.

“This announcement demonstrates the Justice Department’s unwavering commitment to securing our borders and protecting Americans through effective prosecution.”

The charges stem from a decision early in Trump’s second term in office to apply “terrorism” designations to foreign criminal organisations, including gangs and drug cartels.

On his first day back in office, on January 20, Trump signed an executive order declaring that “international cartels constitute a national-security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime”. He directed his officials to begin preparations for implementing the “terrorism” designations.

By February 19, the Federal Register in the US listed eight Latin American criminal groups as “foreign terrorist organisations”, among them the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13).

Mexico’s Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion was also among that initial group of designated organisations.

Since then, the Trump administration has broadened its scope, adding more Latin American groups to the list. On May 2, for instance, two Haitian gangs – Viv Ansanm and Gran Grif – joined the US’s list of foreign terrorist organisations.

These designations are a departure from the usual use of the “foreign terrorist” label, often reserved for organisations that seek specific political aims through their violence.

Critics, however, warn that this application could have unintended consequences, particularly for civilians in vulnerable situations. The “foreign terrorist designation” makes it a crime for anyone to offer material support to a given group, but criminal gangs often extort civilians for money and services as part of their fundraising activities.

“You could accuse anyone – from a migrant who pays a smuggler to a Mexican business that is forced to pay a ‘protection fee’ – of offering material or financial support to a terrorist organisation,” Will Freeman, a fellow for Latin America studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Al Jazeera journalist Brian Osgood earlier this year.

In the case unsealed on Friday, it was revealed that Navarro-Sanchez was arrested on May 4. She had two co-defendants, also Mexican citizens, who likewise faced charges of firearms trafficking and other crimes.

The Mexican government had previously confirmed Navarro-Sanchez’s arrest. A statement ICE released to the media showed multiple firearms and packages of meth and fentanyl allegedly linked to the case.

It also included a photo of a golden AR-15 gun known as “El Dorado” that was reportedly “recovered from Navarro-Sanchez’s possession during her arrest in Mexico”.

“Supplying grenades to a designated terrorist organisation – while trafficking firearms, narcotics, and human beings – is not just criminal,” said ICE’s acting Director Todd Lyons. “It’s a direct assault on the security of the United States.”