The U.S. Navy Joins The War On Drugs

Broad & Liberty ran my piece on the good moves on the war on drugs, including the U.S. Navy helping to secure the southern border.

You can read the piece via the link below or the text below:

Paul Davis: The Navy joins the War on Drugs

As one walks along Broad and Snyder or Kensington and Allegheny, to name but two intersections in Philadelphia where pitiful drug addicts and despicable drug dealers cohabit, one might get the idea that the war on drugs is a losing battle.

I happen to be reading a true crime book about the “cocaine cowboy” drug traffickers in Miami during the outbreak of cocaine use and the violence and corruption that accompanied the sale of the popular drug in the 1980s. The author, like a good number of other journalists, politicians, and even some cops and feds, believes that the war on drugs is a dismal failure. 

These cynics believe that the money spent on law enforcement to combat drugs is wasted because drugs are still being imported to the U.S. in record numbers and Americans are still buying and using the drugs. These critics also note that after one drug lord is arrested, another trafficker eagerly steps up to the leadership role. So, these critics ask, what’s the point?

I don’t subscribe to this idea.

Murders, sadly, are committed. Do these critics also think that homicide divisions should be disbanded because husbands and wives continue to murder each other, as do street gang members? Law enforcement catches murderers one at a time, as they do drug traffickers, taking them off the board. They then move on to the next case. 

I believe that we should throw cold water on this cynicism about drug trafficking and drug use, as there have been some significant battles won recently in the war on drugs.  

For one, the Department of Homeland Security released a report on March 13 on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests in the first 50 days of the Trump Administration. ICE reports that they have made 32,809 enforcement arrests during this period. According to ICE, nearly 75 percent of those arrested were accused or convicted criminals. Within this group there were 1,155 criminal gang members. For many of the gang members, drug trafficking is their primary income.

“We have deported known terrorists, cartel members, and gang members from our country,” Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem stated. “We will see the number of deportations continue to rise. And illegal immigrants have the option to self-deport and come back legally in the future. And our team at ICE will help us continue moving forward to make America safe again.”

Another significant positive act is that President Trump designated drug cartels and transnational gangs as foreign terrorist organizations on January 20. This executive order will generate future actions from the American government against the drug traffickers much like we see U.S. law enforcement, the intelligence community and the military act against ISIS and other terrorist groups. 

There is good news on the border as well. CBS News, not exactly a close friend of the Trump administration, reports that the number of illegal migrants crossing the U.S. southern border in President Trump’s first full month in office plunged to a level not seen in at least 25 years. 

As a proud Navy veteran, I’m pleased to see the U.S. Navy get into the act.

On March 15, the U.S. Northern Command announced that the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107) departed from the Naval Weapons Station Yorktown for a scheduled deployment to assist in the war on drugs.

“USS Gravely’s deployment will contribute to the U.S. Northern Command southern border mission as part of the DOD’s coordinated effort in response to the Presidential Executive Order,” stated General Gregory Guillot, the Commander of the U.S. Northern Command. “Gravely’s sea-going capacity improves our ability to protect the United States’ territorial integrity, sovereignty, and security.

In support of U.S. Northern Command’s mission to restore territorial integrity at the U.S. southern border, the Northern Command said that the USS Gravely reinforces the nation’s commitment to border security by enhancing maritime efforts and supporting interagency collaboration. 

According to the Northern Command, the ship’s deployment highlights the Department of Defense and Navy’s dedication to national security priorities, contributing to a coordinated and robust response to combating maritime related terrorism, weapons proliferation, transnational crime, piracy, environmental destruction, and illegal seaborne immigration.

“The deployment of Gravely marks a vital enhancement to our nation’s border security framework,” said Adm. Daryl Caudle, the commander of the U.S. Naval Forces, Northern Command. “In collaboration with our interagency partners, Gravely strengthens our maritime presence and exemplifies the Navy’s commitment to national security and safeguarding our territorial integrity with professionalism and resolve.”

The Northern Command also stated that the USS Gravely brings maritime capabilities to the border in response to Presidential executive orders and a national emergency declaration and clarification of the military’s role in protecting the territorial integrity of the United States.

A U.S. Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment (LEDET) will be embarked aboard the USS Gravely. The LEDETs carry out a variety of maritime interdiction missions, including counter-piracy, military combat operations, alien migration interdiction, military force protection, counter terrorism, homeland security, and humanitarian response. 

Lastly, on February 28, Mexican drug cartel kingpin Rafael Caro Quintero, along another drug kingpin, Vicente Carrillo Fuentes, were arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn for crimes committed as leaders of Mexican drug cartels. Caro Quintero, extradited from Mexico, was also indicted for the 1985 kidnapping, torture, and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. 

“For decades, Rafael Caro Quintero and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes have flooded the United States and other countries with drugs, violence, and mayhem, killing so many in their quest for power and control, including in RCQ’s case the brutal torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Camarena,” stated United States Attorney John Durham. “Today the next step in the American legal proceedings against these two cartel leaders – Caro Quintero, the “Narco of Narcos,” and Carrillo Fuentes, the head of the Juarez Cartel – are finally underway, and we are one step closer to justice being served.  

“My Office continues to be steadfastly focused on the vital work of protecting people of this district, and of all of those in the United States, from the destruction that cartels wreak on our communities.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge of New York Frank Tarantino also weighed in. “Today marks a day which will be remembered in the history of the DEA. For nearly four decades, the men and women of the DEA have pursued Rafael Caro Quintero, the man responsible for the kidnapping, torture, and death of fallen DEA Special Agent Kiki Camarena, and the leader of one the most notorious and violent drug cartels. Today, Rafael Caro Quintero will finally face the consequences for the crimes he committed. No matter how long it takes, or where you hide, the DEA remains patient and committed in our global pursuit to targeting those individuals who have brought violence and destruction to our communities. The DEA will make sure justice is delivered.” 

The ICE arrest and deportation of illegal migrant criminals, the president’s designation of drug cartels as terrorist organizations, the use of the military to stem the flow of dangerous narcotics from the southern border, and the prosecution of the brutal murderer of a DEA agent are all battles won in the war on drugs. 

Paul Davis, a Philadelphia writer and frequent contributor to Broad + Liberty, also contributes to Counterterrorism magazine and writes the “On Crime” column for the Washington Times. He can be reached at pauldavisoncrime.com. 

Venezuelan Man Sentenced To Three Years In Prison For Migrant Smuggling Conspiracy

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia released the information below:

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Cesar David Martinez-Gonzalez, 40, a native of Venezuela who had been residing in Chester, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Gerald A. McHugh to 36 months’ imprisonment and $20,560 in restitution, in connection with a conspiracy to help smuggle and encourage and induce dozens of migrants from South America to enter the United States illegally so that he could profit from their labor.

The defendant was charged by indictment in July of last year and pleaded guilty in November to one count of conspiring to illegally bring aliens to the United States and to encourage and induce aliens to enter the United States for private financial gain, five counts of encouraging and inducing aliens to illegally enter the United States for private financial gain, and four counts of transfer of an unlawful identification document.

The object of the conspiracy, for the personal financial gain of Martinez-Gonzalez and others, was to illegally smuggle citizens of South American countries into the United States across the U.S.-Mexico border, and to encourage and induce them to enter the United States without prior authorization.

Martinez-Gonzalez entered the United States illegally. He then launched a scheme and wired money to migrants in South America and fronted money to “coyotes” in Mexico, who guided migrants across the Rio Grande and through holes in the U.S.-Mexico border wall. He also provided migrants with information to give to Customs and Border Protection so that they could be released — on parole — to his residences. Martinez-Gonzalez then paid for airplane flights to bring the migrants to Philadelphia, and, once they arrived, transported them to houses in and around Chester, Pa.

At this point, Martinez-Gonzalez and his associates would impose upon the migrants thousands or tens-of-thousands of dollars in “debts” owed to him, which the migrants would have to pay off through working long hours at factories and other worksites and forfeiting half of their weekly wages to the defendant. Martinez-Gonzalez also helped the migrants obtain false identification documents and hourly work through various staffing agencies. The debts imposed by the defendant were well in excess of what it cost to get the individuals to Chester and house them there.

During the two-year period that the defendant operated his scheme, he induced and helped to illegally bring over 100 aliens to the United States, all for his private financial gain. The defendant imposed a daily pressure campaign on the migrants to keep working, for whatever hours they could get from the staffing agencies, so that they could keep making “debt” payments to him. He kept careful records of the debts migrants had paid to him and still owed to him, demonstrating that the illegal scheme was, for him, about making money. The defendant’s steady, calculated scheme entailed a pervasive abuse of the nation’s immigration system, as well as of the many migrants he induced to come to the United States. Moreover, the defendant was granted Temporary Protected Status in the United States in March 2024, which he took advantage of by continuing to perpetrate his scheme after being granted status to remain in the country.

“Martinez-Gonzalez committed an egregious offense against the citizens of our country as well as the illegal immigrants he smuggled into it,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Our office intends to combat illegal immigration in all forms­ — including by pursuing the offenders who orchestrate and facilitate schemes that compromise our border security and the rule of law. In this case, Martinez-Gonzalez not only betrayed our country after entering it illegally and receiving status, but he also imposed onerous ‘debts’ on unlawful migrants and effectively coerced them to work long and monotonous hours to pay him back. My office and our partners will continue to target human smugglers for prosecution. They exploit their victims and make a mockery of our lawful immigration system.”

“Driven by personal greed, Martinez-Gonzalez not only smuggled individuals into the United States but also continued to exploit them for profit,” said Wayne A. Jacobs. “The FBI, in collaboration with HSI, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Attorney's Office, remains committed to holding accountable those who engage in human smuggling and exploitation.”

“This case highlights the critical role that Homeland Security Investigations plays in dismantling human smuggling networks that exploit vulnerable individuals for personal profit. Martinez-Gonzalez not only violated our nation's immigration laws but also preyed on the hopes and dreams of those seeking a better life, forcing them into a cycle of debt and exploitation,” said Special Agent in Charge of HSI Philadelphia Edward V. Owens. “HSI remains committed to working with our partners to investigate and prosecute those who engage in such reprehensible acts.”

“Mr. Martinez-Gonzalez helped illegal migrants obtain false identification for employment, forcing them to work off so-called thousands of dollars in debts, but in reality, it was for his own personal gain,” said Assistant Inspector General for Audit performing the duties of the Inspector General, Michelle L. Anderson. “I thank our law enforcement partners, the FBI and HSI, for their efforts in this investigation, as well as the United States Attorney’s Office for prosecuting the case.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, HSI, and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sara A. Solow, Louis D. Lappen, Eileen Castilla Geiger, and J. Andrew Jenemann.

A Look Back At Life Aboard An Aircraft Carrier During The Vietnam War: 'The Compartment Cleaner'

The story below is Chapter 20 of Olongapo, a crime novel I hope to soon publish. 

The story originally appeared in American Crime Magazine. 

The Compartment Cleaner 

By Paul Davis 

Back in 1969, I was 16 years old and working full time as a messenger for an office supply company after dropping out of South Philadelphia High School, or Southern, as we called it. 

The job did not pay well, but I didn’t care as I was just waiting until I turned 17 so I could then join the Navy. I liked delivering office supplies to the offices in Center City Philadelphia, the city’s business hub. I handed over the office supplies to the receptionists and secretaries, who were mostly young pretty girls. I always stayed there a bit and flirted with the young girls. 

For a girl-crazy young man like me, this was a dream job. The job ended for me when the owner of the company informed me that the messengers took turns cleaning the company’s bathroom. I was a proud kid, and as I was dressed in an expensive Italian knit shirt and dress slacks, I told the owner that I didn’t clean toilets. 

Astonished that a teenager would talk to him in this manner, the owner said, “I don’t know what to say, except finish the day…” 

“I quit right now,” I said, and I walked out the door. “I don’t clean fucking toilets.” 

Well, I later turned 17 and joined the Navy. And guess what my first job was in Boot Camp? Yeah, cleaning toilets. 

During my time in the Navy, I often told other sailors that I joined the Navy because I liked the idea of clean ships. And then I found out I had to clean them.

That old joke always got a laugh. 

When Lorino and I first reported aboard the Kitty Hawk in Bremerton, Washington in 1970 we were lucky to escape pulling a three-month stint as mess cooks, like all the other seamen new to the carrier. We dodged that drudgery, as the petty officer in the ship’s personnel office was from Philadelphia. He said he didn’t want to assign his “homeboys” to the tough and thankless duty of cleaning up the galley around the clock and being ordered about by the cooks who prepared the crew’s meals. 

Instead, he assigned us to three months with Special Services, where manpower was required to install the new shipboard close-circuit TV/Radio cable throughout the length of the ship. The Kitty Hawk was the first warship to have close-circuit TV and radio stations. We also performed a variety of other tasks in Special Services. 

Having attended two firefighting schools, I was also assigned to a Damage Control Team, which was called out to fight fires and other emergencies. A fire aboard an aircraft carrier could turn into a truly deadly affair, as the warship carried massive amounts of bombs, missiles and JP5 jet fuel.    

After I mentioned that I was an aspiring writer to the Special Services Officer, LTJG Parker, a journalism university graduate, he assigned me to write three feature articles for the ship's newspaper, which were my first published pieces. 

At the end of our three month-detail, I was reassigned to the Communications Radio Division and Lorino was reassigned to the Deck Department. It had been a good three months in Special Services for me and having witnessed the tired and miserable mess cooks swabbing decks, wiping down counters and bulkheads, and scrubbing pots and pans, I was thankful that I had “skated” on that cleaning assignment.   

But imagine my disappointment when after I reported to the radio division, I was immediately assigned as the division compartment cleaner. I was informed that I would be the compartment cleaner for a two-month period. I was unhappy, but there was nothing I could do. 

The job, however, turned out to be quite easy. Each day I cleaned the head, which had about a dozen toilets, sinks and shower stalls, and I sweep, swabbed, waxed and buffed the tiled deck with an electric buffer. While the rest of the sailors in the division were working long hours in the message processing center during our sea trials, drills and flight operations off the coast of Southern California prior to the aircraft carrier heading to Southeast Asia, my job took only about two hours in the morning. I also had to sweep the compartment’s deck and empty the ash trays at night after the crew watched the daily movie on our close-circuit TV. I was largely unsupervised, which suited me. 

Despite the relative ease of the job, I was pleased when a chief assigned me to the message processing center as we were heading towards Southeast Asia and the Vietnam War. The chief reassigned a seaman who screwed up in the message center to be the new compartment cleaner. 

My replacement was Donald Harris, a sailor from Seattle, Washington. A short, 25-year-old with reddish-blonde hair and a full curly beard, Harris was adamantly opposed to the Vietnam War. Thrown out of college for his antics in a violent and destructive anti-war protest on campus, he tried to avoid the draft by stating that he was a conscientious objector. When that didn’t work, he joined the Navy, thinking that serving on a destroyer or submarine in Europe was preferable to participating in the Vietnam War. 

He was crushed when he received orders to the USS Kitty Hawk, which he knew would be operating off the coast of Vietnam. Reporting aboard the aircraft carrier, he was assigned to the Communications Radio Division. Even before he unpacked his sea bag, Harris began offering his anti-war opinions to the other sailors in the division. Due to his overwrought and theatrical delivery, no one paid much attention to him. Most of the sailors thought he was a kook. 

“Opinions are like assholes,” one old chief told Harris after one of his anti-war rants. “Everyone has one – and they all stink.” 

Harris was generally tolerated, but he went over the line on one watch when he stood up on his soapbox – in this case a desk in the message center - and yelled out that the carrier’s crew and air wing were conducting an illegal and evil war and killing innocent women and children. 

Commander Olson came out of his small office and ordered one of the chiefs to throw Harris out of the message center. 

Harris was assigned as the compartment cleaner for the rest of his time on the Kitty Hawk. 

One night on Yankee Station in the Tonkin Gulf off the coast of Vietnam in 1971, after one of my "eight on/eight off" watches, I was lying in my rack after the late showing of the daily movie on our shipboard TV station. I couldn’t sleep, so I was reading one of the dozen books I had on the metal shelf in my rack. I was a huge admirer of Ernest Hemingway’s novels, short stories and nonfiction books, and I was trying to read the late, great writer’s posthumous novel, Islands in the Stream. 

But I had to put the book down as I could not concentrate on the novel while Harris was filibustering below. I got out of my rack in a t-shirt and skivvies (shorts), slipped on my flip-flop shower shoes, and sat in a chair by Trent as Harris was sweeping up and pontificating about the Vietnam War. 

Harris was on a roll, bending Trent’s ear and the ear of a seaman named Mike Topher. Trent was a Texan who didn’t say much. He was only sitting out in the berthing compartment as he was smoking a cigarette. He planned to “hit the rack,” as we used to say, after his cigarette. Topher, a 26-year-old black sailor from Detroit, was also a quiet guy who was sitting there in silence drinking a coke and smoking a cigarette. 

When I sat down, Harris figured he had a live one to debate. Like Harris, I was a voracious reader of books, magazines, newspapers and message traffic. And like Harris, I had a keen interest in the war, although we held differing views of the conflict, much like the people back home. 

At sea aboard the aircraft carrier, we read in the Defense Department’s newspaper, Stars and Stripes and the newspapers we received from home about how the Vietnam War was continuing to divide a deeply contentious public back in the states. Anti-war protests and riots were covered prominently on the newspapers’ front pages. There were also newspaper stories about counter demonstrations from construction workers and others who supported the American involvement in the Vietnam War.    

Harris wanted to be back in the USA in the throes of the anti-war protests and not on a warship actively engaged in the war. Frustrated and angry, he aimed his speech about an illegal and evil war at me. He also stated that we were dropping bombs on an innocent and defenseless country. 

“Well, you know the North Vietnamese invaded South Vietnam, not the other way around,” I said. “And the North is not exactly defenseless. They have one of the largest armies in the world, trained and supplied by the Soviets and the Communist Chinese.” 

I also noted that the North Vietnamese surface to air missiles, called SAMs, which were aimed at our pilots, were state-of-the-art thanks to the Soviets. 

“We’re not just fighting pajama-wearing Viet Cong guerrillas.” I added.   

Harris did not bother to respond to my comments. 

 “I can’t stand to be complicit in this illegal war,” Harris said, his voice rising. “Every time a plane launches from the flight deck, I feel like a baby killer!” 

 “Shut the fuck up!” yelled someone who was trying to sleep. 

“Swabbing the deck and picking up soda pop cans and cigarette butts don’t exactly make you a warrior or a baby killer,” Trent said softly. 

“But I’m here and I’m a part of this massive killing machine.” 

Trent and I looked at each other and shook our heads. 

At that point, seemingly out of nowhere, Topher stood up, grabbed his crotch, and yelled out, “I gots to stick my dick in something!” 

Trent and I laughed at Topher’s vocal expression of sexual frustration. As young men who spent months at sea, we all shared that frustration, even if we didn’t blurt it out like Topher. Harris, who no doubt did not appreciate the change in the course of the conversation, stormed into the head.  

There were some war hawks in the division and there were some doves as well. Some sailors had no view of the war, or they chose not to express their view. The doves believed we should not be involved in the Vietnam conflict, and the hawks believed that the president and the Pentagon should remove the war-fighting limitations and restrictive rules of engagement against the enemy and allow the American military to win the war outright. 

I leaned towards the view that a Kitty Hawk F-4 Phantom jet pilot expressed to me in an Olongapo restaurant. He said that many of his fellow combat pilots believed we should use our massive air power to go all out and defeat the North Vietnamese rather than fight a protracted and limited war to contain the North Vietnamese Communists. 

He said that American politicians and the general public were fast tiring of a prolonged war of attrition, featured live and bloody on TV. 

“We’re losing the opinion war,” the pilot told me. “Even though we’ve won every single battle in Vietnam over company strength.”    

Harris, of course, did not subscribe to this view. He was certainly entitled to his opinion, and he was certainly not alone in his thinking, but he expressed those opinions ad nauseum and in an overdramatic fashion. Harris alienated even those who agreed with his views. 

After we docked at Subic Bay, Harris went alone into Olongapo to, as he put it, “drown his sorrows.” He began drinking at a bar and was soon joined by a hostess. Harris bought drinks for the two of them, but he was depressed and found no joy in the cold beer or the pretty girl next to him. 

Harris asked the girl if she could obtain some “Red Devils” for him, thinking the barbiturates would dull his internal pain and guilt. He handed the girl some money and she got up from the table and sought out one of the band members who took the cash and handed her some pills. She returned to Harris’ table and gave him five capsules. Harris swallowed all five capsules with gulps of beer. 

Quality control was not a strong point in the producing of Red Devils in Olongapo. The capsules were unevenly produced. One could take eight capsules and feel little, or one could take two capsules and die from an overdose. 

Harris’ five Red Devils caused him to collapse as he was trying to leave the bar. He fell on the floor and foamed at the mouth. A Filipino waiter rushed out onto the street and flagged down a Navy Shore Patrol jeep. 

Harris regained consciousness in the Subic Bay hospital. After he recovered, he was put on report for taking drugs and told that if he signed a confession, he would be given a general discharge. The general discharge stated that he was unfit for naval service. Harris saw this as a way out of the war. He signed the confession and was promptly discharged from the U.S. Navy and flown home. 

When we left Subic Bay and headed back to Yankee Station, some other poor slob was assigned as the compartment cleaner. 

© 2025 By Paul Davis 

Note: You can read other chapters from Olongapo via the links below:

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'Butterfly'

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'Salvatore Lorino'

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: The Old Huk

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: Join The Navy And See Olongapo

Paul Davis On Crime: Boots On The Ground

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'The 30-Day Detail'

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'Cat Street'

Paul Davis On Crime: Chapter 12: On Yankee Station

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'The Cherry Boy'

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: 'The Hit'

Paul Davis On Crime: My Crime Fiction: Welcome To Japan, Davis-San

High-Ranking Member Of Violent Mexican Drug Cartel Pleads Guilty To Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

The U.S. Justice Department released the information below on March 13^th:

Mexican national and high-ranking, violent member of the Los Zetas cartel pleaded guilty today to conspiring to manufacture and distribute large quantities of cocaine and marijuana destined for the United States.

According to court documents, Eleazar Medina-Rojas, also known as El Chelelo, 53, was a member of Los Zetas, a drug trafficking organization comprised primarily of former Mexican military officers that began as an armed militaristic wing of the Gulf Cartel. Los Zetas later formed an alliance with the Gulf Cartel, and they collectively operated under the name “The Company.” Medina-Rojas was responsible for enforcement actions and protection of drug trafficking routes, which he often carried out through violence, threats of violence, and the use of weapons. For example, Medina-Rojas participated in acts of violence against rival drug trafficking groups during conflicts for control over drug plazas and trafficking routes.

Medina-Rojas rose through the ranks of The Company and held important leadership roles. Between 2006 and 2007, he served as a “plaza boss” in Monterrey, Mexico, commanding dozens of members of The Company in drug trafficking activity and acts of violence. Specifically, he coordinated cocaine and marijuana loads from Mexico into the United States, shipping the drugs in box trucks and other vehicles outfitted with hidden compartments, and coordinated the repatriation of bulk cash drug proceeds to Mexico. Medina-Rojas and those under his command and control taxed other shipments of illegal drugs that crossed through The Company’s territory, often en route to the United States. Medina-Rojas was personally responsible for the importation into the United States of more than 450 kilograms of cocaine and 90,000 kilograms of marijuana.

Sentencing is scheduled for June 13, 2025.  Medina-Rojas faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Supervisory Official Matthew R. Galeotti, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge Daniel C. Comeaux of the Houston Field Division made the announcement.

The DEA Houston Division investigated the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and July 2023 extradition of Medina-Rojas.

Trial Attorneys Jayce Born and Kirk Handrich and Acting Deputy Chief Melanie Alsworth of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhoods.

The FBI Marks The 75th Anniversary Of The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List

The FBI celebrated the75th anniversary of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List yesterday, March 14^th.

The FBI released the information below:

Today, the FBI marks the 75th anniversary of one of its most iconic crime-fighting tools, the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.

"The Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list is an invaluable investigative publicity tool the FBI has leveraged for 75 years to ensure the most odious criminals are brought to justice," said FBI Director Kash Patel. "The capture rate of the subjects on the list demonstrates the enormous assistance the public provides as well as the FBI’s unwavering commitment to apprehending these criminals. The Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list is a constant reminder to these offenders: We will find you and bring you to justice, no matter how long it takes. Thank you to the American people and our law enforcement partners who have provided vital help to over decades."

The Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list is a critical tool in the FBI’s efforts to bring dangerous fugitives to justice. It also underscores the power of public awareness in the pursuit of the nation’s most elusive and violent offenders. Since its inception on March 14, 1950, 535 fugitives have appeared on the list and 496 have been apprehended or located—many due to tips from citizens. To date, public tips have led to the arrest of 163 fugitives on the list. 

It started when a reporter asked the FBI about writing a story to highlight the "toughest guys" being sought by the Bureau at the time. The FBI provided the names and descriptions of ten fugitives to the reporter. The resulting feature became a major story that garnered national attention. Recognizing the potential of public involvement, then-FBI Director J. Edward Hoover formalized the list and named it what we know it as today. Since then, the FBI has continued to use the list to enlist public support in locating dangerous criminals. Through evolving media channels and digital platforms, the list remains a symbol of partnership between law enforcement and the public.

As the nature of crime and FBI priorities have evolved over the years, the makeup of the Top Ten list has also changed. While the list began by featuring bank robbers and murder suspects fleeing state jurisdiction, it has evolved into a tool to search for major organized crime figures, cybercriminals, child predators, and white-collar criminals. The list also reflects the international scope of crime, which emphasizes the importance of strong global partnerships in the search for violent criminals who know no boundaries and pose a significant danger to all.

Just as the list's focus has broadened, so too have the methods by which the FBI communicates with the public. In the early years, newspapers and magazines initially brought broader participation to the program. Today, the FBI uses the internet, television, social media, and digital billboards while continuing to rely on the public's assistance in locating wanted fugitives. Foreign media and broadcasting services are now also assisting with the pursuit of international criminals as the FBI continues to recognize the unique ability of the media to cast a wider net within communities both here and abroad.

That reporter's idea, so many years ago, to form a partnership among law enforcement, the media, and the citizens of the world continues to prove beneficial today. As the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives program celebrates 75 years of success, the expectation is that it will continue to empower citizens across the country and around the world to safely and effectively assist law enforcement for years to come. 

The FBI places a high priority on the fugitive investigations that are added to the list. In many cases, the Bureau offers rewards of up to $250,000 for information that leads directly to the arrest of a fugitive.

More information about the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list is available at fbi.gov/topten.

U.S. CENTCOM Forces Kill ISIS Chief Of Global Operations Who Also Served As ISIS #2

The U.S. Military’s Central Command released the information below:

Tampa, Fla. – On March 13, U.S. Central Command forces, in cooperation with Iraqi Intelligence and Security Forces, conducted a precision airstrike in Al Anbar Province, Iraq, that killed the Global ISIS #2 leader, chief of operations and the Delegated Committee Emir – Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, alias “Abu Khadijah”, and one other ISIS operative.

As the Emir of ISIS’ most senior decision-making body, Abu Khadijah maintained responsibility for operations, logistics, and planning conducted by ISIS globally, and directs a significant portion of finance for the group’s global organization.

After the strike, CENTCOM and Iraqi forces moved to the strike site and found both dead ISIS operatives. Both terrorists were wearing unexploded “suicide vests” and had multiple weapons. CENTCOM and Iraqi forces were able to identify Abu Khadijah through a DNA match from DNA collected on a previous raid where Abu Khadijah narrowly escaped.

“Abu Khadijah was one of the most important ISIS members in the entire global ISIS organization. We will continue to kill terrorists and dismantle their organizations that threaten our homeland and U.S., allied and partner personnel in the region and beyond,” said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander, U.S. Central Command.

Securing The Southern Border: Two Months Of Military Decisive Action

U.S. Army Major Wes Shinego at the DOD News offers a piece on the military on the southern border:

In the two months since President Donald J. Trump's inauguration Jan. 20, 2025, the administration has launched a multifront campaign to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, targeting cartels, transnational criminal organizations and illegal immigration.

The 52-day period marks a shift in national security priorities, with the administration designating cartels as terrorist threats, deploying thousands of troops resulting in a 94% reduction of unlawful border crossings. Backed by executive orders, military resources and international cooperation, these efforts signal a change in border enforcement aimed at restoring sovereignty and protecting American communities.

A New National Security Framework

On his first day in office, Trump issued an executive order designating Mexican cartels and transnational criminal organizations as foreign terrorist organizations and specially designated global terrorists, elevating them to the same threat level as ISIS or al-Qaida.

That move, long advocated by national security experts, reframes cartels as existential dangers rather than criminal enterprises. Attorney General Pam Bondi's subsequent Department of Justice memo operationalized this shift, directing prosecutors to pursue terrorism charges under 18 U.S.C. § 2339B alongside traditional drug trafficking and racketeering offenses.

By streamlining processes — suspending National Security Division approvals and fast-tracking terrorism-related warrants — the DOJ has empowered law enforcement to act swiftly against cartel leaders with penalties now including life imprisonment or the death penalty.

That legal overhaul complements a broader strategic pivot. While the administration continues to prioritize near-peer competitors like China and Russia, it has closed the gray area that cartels exploited for decades. The result is a unified approach that marshals the full weight of U.S. national security resources to dismantle these organizations that control over 80% of illegal drugs such as fentanyl entering the U.S. and earn billions from human trafficking.

Military Mobilization and Operational Control

Under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the Defense Department has matched this policy shift with unprecedented action. Within 36 hours of Trump's Jan. 20 executive order declaring a national emergency at the southern border, Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses announced the deployment of 1,500 active-duty troops, making the total 4,000 alongside 2,500 reservists already in place.

By March 1, 2025, the Pentagon deployed a 4,400-soldier Stryker brigade combat team and a 650-troop general support aviation battalion, bringing Title 10 forces to approximately 9,000. Equipped with Stryker vehicles, Black Hawk and Chinook helicopters, these units enhance detection, logistic and aerial support for Customs and Border Protection.

During Hegseth's visit to the Laredo, Texas, Feb. 3, 2025, he defined "mission accomplishment" as "100% operational control" of the southern border. Troops have installed physical barriers, provided real-time surveillance and freed CBP agents for interdiction, while U.S. Northern Command coordinates a joint task force with DHS.

An agreement with Mexico added 10,000 Mexican troops to patrol their side of the border. Meanwhile, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, will be used to detain criminal migrants. The first detainees are 10 Tren de Aragua members — a newly designated terrorist group — who arrived at Guantanamo Bay Feb. 5, 2025.

Measurable Results

Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks reported March 4, 2025, unlawful crossings have decreased from 4,800 to 285 daily apprehensions. Executive actions, including the closure of the asylum system for illegal entrants and the cancellation of Biden-era policies, have halted migrant releases into the U.S. interior.

Since Jan. 20, 2025, only two migrants have been released from custody — both as witnesses in criminal cases. Banks credits the "greater punishment, larger deterrent" strategy, bolstered by troop surges and Texas National Guard soldiers deputized as immigration officers.

Reinforcing Legislative Efforts

The administration is also pressing Congress to act. The Halt Fentanyl Act, passed by the House Feb. 9, 2025, aims to permanently classify fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs, though it awaits Senate approval. Proposals to schedule xylazine — a deadly sedative mixed with fentanyl — as a Schedule III substance and designate large-scale fentanyl trafficking as a weapon of mass destruction are gaining traction.

These measures would enhance interdiction and grant agencies like DOD and DEA authority to counter the opioid epidemic as a whole that has claimed thousands of American lives since 2000.

Note: The above photo taken by Army Sgt. 1^st Class Andrew R. Sveen shows Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visiting the Joint Task Force, Northern Command, to see the efforts military men and women are undertaking in support of U.S. Customs and Border Protection at Fort Bliss, Texas on February 3, 2025.