| | |  Americas & Beyond | August 2009 
43 Indicted in U.S., Mexico on Drug Trafficking Charges
 Carrie Johnson - Washington Post
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August 20, 2009
 |  | Between 1990 and 2008, the indictments claim, the accused drug lords and their allies imported and distributed on American soil nearly 200 tons of cocaine and vast stores of heroin that fetched more than $5.8 billion. |  | | |
Law enforcement officials Thursday morning unveiled criminal charges against 43 defendants in the United States and Mexico, including leaders of prominent drug cartels in a country that has been plagued with gun violence.
A group of federal agencies including the Justice Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the cases, filed in New York and Chicago. Eight defendants were arrested over the past week although current and former alleged kingpins in the organized crime syndicate known as the "Sinaloa Cartel" remain at large, authorities said.
The action marks the latest attempt by U.S. and Mexican law enforcement to stem the flow of drugs, weapons and cash across the Southwest border.
"Today's indictments demonstrate our unwavering commitment to root out the leaders of these criminal enterprises wherever they may be found," Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said.
Between 1990 and 2008, the indictments claim, the accused drug lords and their allies imported and distributed on American soil nearly 200 tons of cocaine and vast stores of heroin that fetched more than $5.8 billion.
Chicago U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald, who appeared in Washington alongside his counterpart from Brooklyn, said the court filings "are among the most significant drug conspiracy charges ever returned" in his city.
Homeland security officials said that U.S. agencies are "working closer than ever before to develop a united strategy to break down criminal drug operations, in the words of Assistant Secretary John Morton.
Among the defendants charged in indictments unsealed Thursday are Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman-Loera, Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada-Garcia and Arturo Beltran-Leyva, who allegedly helped run the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.
Seven other cartel leaders also face criminal charges that threaten to send them to prison for life. Most have ties to Sinaloa, also known as "The Federation," but a minority are connected to the Juarez cartel and other groups, the Justice Department said Thursday. |
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