Cocaine Trafficking Tracker

Europe's ports remain prime targets for transatlantic cocaine flows, but UK resilience shines:

• Sophisticated concealment: 3 tonnes (£256M, sixth...

Bay Area man described by federal authorities as a co-founder of the cartel with El Mencho has pleaded guilty to a major cocaine conspiracy, facing life in prison.

Sinaloa Fentanyl Expansion

• 🔥 Rural U.S. Targeting: Cartels exploit weaker law enforcement in rural America to expand fentanyl distribution...

• 11+ skeletal remains unearthed in hidden rural graves near Guadalajara, plus 12 bags at a Tlajomulco site – buried long ago in CJNG's Jalisco...

Key pillars of Colombia's narco power fueling global trafficking:

• Billion-dollar cartels like Medellín (bombs) and Cali (bribes) corrupted...

• Rural targeting: Cartels hit small-town America for weak law enforcement—one sheriff per county eases drug hiding and networks.
• Prosecution...

Clan Dismantlements

• 🔥 Risitas Clan Taken Down: The Civil Guard dismantled the “Risitas” clan with 20 arrests for international cocaine...

Clan-based network cracked: Civil Guard arrests 20, including escaped leader from 2023's Op Kiken (30 arrests, 1,000kg cocaine seized), in 22 searches...

Coordinated triumph in Eastern Pacific: USCG cutter Escanaba recovered 4,510 lbs ($34M) cocaine from narcoterrorist go-fast vessel off Manta, Ecuador,...

Mexican Navy ramps up Pacific interdictions: Over 11 tons of cocaine seized at sea this year, including 4 tons off Colima Coast.

• Highlights scale of maritime trafficking routes.
• Ties into CJNG-linked networks amid regional ops.

Sinaloa Cartel Leadership

• 🔥 Guadalupe Fernández Valencia, 'La Patrona': Guadalupe Fernández Valencia rose from drug dealer to the Sinaloa...

Multi-angle on kingpin strategy limits and cartel depth:

• DEA's Kingpin Approach: Developed 30 years ago against Colombian networks, yet the tactic...

P16.7M cocaine washed ashore in Patnanungan, Quezon, on Good Friday—lab-confirmed, not shabu.

• Discovered by picnicker from kids along shoreline;...

Sierra Leone's rising role in cocaine trafficking:

• Key route: From Brazil's Santos port via Freetown to Antwerp, part of Western coastal hub with...

CJNG Co-Founder Guilty Plea

• 🔥 Erick Valencia Salazar Conviction: Erick Valencia Salazar, 49-year-old alleged co-founder of CJNG with El Mencho,...

Rising trend: Mexican cartels like CJNG and Sinaloa blend crime with insurgency via drones, IEDs, mass attacks, and heavy weapons, projecting...

Key assessment on US ops impact:

• Specific disruptions: Go-fast boats from Venezuela to Aruba, Curaçao, Bonaire, and Trinidad/Tobago ceased after...

Key CJNG figure under US hammer: Erick Valencia Salazar, aka El 85, co-founder with slain El Mencho, pleaded guilty to cocaine importation...

Brazil’s ‘Pablo Escobar’ Trial

• 🔥 Sergio Roberto de Carvalho Faces Charges in Belgium: The trial of Sergio Roberto de Carvalho, a former...

• Chiapas leads deportees (12,786) as CJNG battles for drug and migrant smuggling routes from Guatemala.
• Guanajuato (11,552) and Guerrero (11,044)...