My piece on the DEA-led Operation Python cartel takedown appears in the current issue of Counterterrorism magazine.
You can read the piece below:
On March 11th, the U.S. Justice Department and the Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced the results of Project Python, a
DEA-led interagency operation encompassing all global investigations and
related disruption activities targeting the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación
(CJNG).
According to the
Justice Department, the announcement marked the successful conclusion of six
months of investigative and enforcement activity targeting the cartel, which
resulted in more than 600 arrests, 350 indictments, as well as significant
seizures of money and drugs.
“Project Python marks
the most comprehensive action to date in the Department of Justice’s campaign
to disrupt, dismantle, and ultimately destroy CJNG,” said Assistant Attorney
General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Criminal Division. “When President Trump
signed an Executive Order prioritizing the dismantlement of transnational
criminal organizations, the Department of Justice answered the call and took
direct aim at CJNG. We deemed CJNG as one of the highest-priority transnational
organized crime threats we face.”
The Justice
Department stated that the cartel is one of the fastest growing transnational
criminal organizations in Mexico and among the most prolific methamphetamine
producers in the world. The cartel is responsible for a significant proportion
of drugs entering the United States and for elevated levels of violence in
Mexico. With methamphetamine abuse and overdose deaths on the rise, Project
Python’s aim was to disrupt the cartel’s ability by hitting the cartel at all
levels.
The Justice
Department and DEA also announced a superseding indictment on charges of
alleged continuing criminal enterprise against Nemesio Ruben Oseguera
Cervantes, also known as “El Mencho,” the undisputed leader of CJNG. In
February, El Mencho’s son, Ruben Oseguera Gonzalez, also known as “Menchito,”
and second in command of CJNG, was extradited from Mexico to the United States
on charges of alleged drug trafficking and firearm use in relation to drug
trafficking activities. And on Feb. 26, 2020, El Mencho’s daughter, Jessica
Johanna Oseguera Gonzalez, was arrested in the United States on financial
charges related to her alleged criminal violation of the Foreign Narcotics
Kingpin Designation Act.
The Department of
Justice’s multi-agency Special Operations Division, federal prosecutors from
the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section of the Department’s Criminal Division,
the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs and Office of
Enforcement Operations all provided support to Project Python.
The report notes
that the cartel’s roots go back to the Milenio Cartel, which was active in the
tierra caliente region of southern Mexico before it broke up in 2009. The CJNG
is a by-product of the Milenio cartel’s collapse and was allied with the
Sinaloa federation until 2014. CJNG reportedly served as an enforcement group
for the Sinaloa DTO until the summer 2013.
The report states
that analysts and Mexican authorities have suggested the split between Sinaloa
and CJNG is one of the many indications of a general fragmentation of crime
groups. According to the report, the Mexican military delivered a severe blow
to the CJNG with the July 2013 capture of its leader’s deputy, Victor Hugo “El
Tornado” Delgado Renteria.
According to some
analysts, CJNG has operations throughout the Americas, Asia, and Europe. The
group allegedly is responsible for distributing cocaine and methamphetamine
along 10,000 kilometers of the Pacific coast in a route that extends from the
Southern Cone to the border of the United States and Canada.”
The report also
states that CJNG battled Los Zetas and Gulf cartel factions in Tabasco,
Veracruz, and Guanajuato, and has battled the Sinaloa federation in the Baja
peninsulas and Chihuahua. The report claims CJNG’s ambitious expansion campaign
has led to high levels of violence, particularly in Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana,
where it has clashed with the Sinaloa federation for control of the lucrative
heroin trade and corresponding smuggling routes.
The CJNG’s efforts
to dominate key ports on both the Pacific and Gulf Coasts has allowed the
cartel to consolidate important components of the global narcotics supply chain.
CJNG asserts control over the ports of Veracruz, Mazanillo, and Lázaro
Cardenas, which has given the group access to precursor chemicals that flow
into Mexico from China and other parts of Latin America. As a result, CJNG has
been able to pursue an aggressive growth strategy, underwritten by U.S. demand
for Mexican methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl.
CJNG is considered a
newer and extremely powerful cartel, based in Mexico’s second-largest city of
Guadalajara, and has a presence in 22 of the 32 Mexican states.
Speaking at the
March press conference, Assistant Attorney General Brain Benczkowski thanked
Acting Administrator Dhillon for his strong leadership in the fight against
transnational organized crime. He also thanked the law enforcement professionals
of the DEA.
Benczkowski said
that the DEA is dedicated to taking down the most dangerous and destructive
cartels in the world. “Its brave agents work tirelessly to disrupt and
dismantle criminal drug trafficking syndicates, to reduce the availability of
drugs, and to ensure that the places where we live, work, and raise our
families are safe and secure.”
Benczkowski stated
that the CJNG is one of the most dangerous transnational criminal organizations
in the world. He said that the cartel produces its own precursors and recruits
chemists and experienced cooks to its operations, further expanding the reach
of its fentanyl and heroin production and distribution operations.
“According to DEA’s intelligence, CJNG runs major methamphetamine labs in Mexico and continues to increase its presence along the Southwest Border. And with primary drug distribution hubs in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta, CJNG is one of the most powerful Mexican cartels operating within the United States,” Benczkowski said. “At the same time, CJNG has contributed to a catastrophic trail of human and physical destruction in Mexico. It is the most well-armed cartel in Mexico. Its members willingly confront rival cartels and even the security forces of the Mexican government. CJNG is responsible for grisly acts of violence and loss of life. With Project Python, we are delivering results in the face of that threat for the American people.”
Paul Davis is a regular contributor to the Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security Int’l.
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