drug trafficking

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Son of 'El Chapo' Pleads Guilty in Chicago Court

Joaquin Guzman Lopez was appearing at a status hearing in the drug trafficking case against him

(Newser) - Joaquin Guzman Lopez, son of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, pleaded guilty in a US federal court on Monday to drug trafficking charges. The plea was entered during what was supposed to be a status hearing in Chicago, according to court records. Guzman Lopez, one of...

Trump: Hegseth Didn't Order Strike on Survivors

President says he trusts Pentagon chief's denial about drug boat controversy

(Newser) - President Trump is standing by Pete Hegseth amid controversy over a deadly military strike on a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean. Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that the Pentagon chief did not order a second strike specifically to kill two survivors from the initial strike. "Pete...

Trump to Pardon Ex-President Convicted of Drug Trafficking

Post includes endorsement in Honduras' election

(Newser) - President Trump said Friday that he'll pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted of drug trafficking and weapons charges last year and sentenced to 45 years in prison. The president explained his decision in a social media post, saying that "according to many people that...

US Calls Cartel a Terror Group; Venezuela Says It Doesn't Exist

US seeks 'new options' by labeling Cartel de los Soles it says Maduro runs as a terror organization

(Newser) - Venezuela is pushing back hard against a US plan to label the so-called Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization, dismissing the move as a "ridiculous fabrication" ahead of a formal announcement expected Monday. The Trump administration alleges the group is run by high-ranking Venezuelan officials, with President...

Reward for Ex-Olympic Snowboarder Upped to $15M

Feds intensify their hunt for alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding

(Newser) - Ryan Wedding was once a Canadian Olympic snowboarder. Now he's "a modern-day iteration of Pablo Escobar. He's a modern-day iteration of 'El Chapo' Guzman," said FBI Director Kash Patel Wednesday in announcing the reward for the 44-year-old's capture has been raised to $15...

US Hits Another Suspected Drug Boat in Pacific, Kills 3

The attack is the 21st such strike in recent weeks

(Newser) - The US military on Saturday carried out its 21st strike in recent weeks on a vessel it claims was transporting narcotics, killing three people in the Eastern Pacific, according to US Southern Command. The incident took place in international waters and targeted a boat linked to what officials described as...

Man Freed From Prison by Trump Is Making Return Trip

Jonathan Braun, whose sentence Trump commuted, is sentenced to 27 months on sex assault charges

(Newser) - A man whose prison sentence was commuted by President Trump at the tail end of Trump's first term is headed back behind bars. Jonathan Braun, originally convicted of drug trafficking and money laundering in 2011, was sentenced on Monday to 27 months for a string of violent and abusive...

Hegseth: Latest Drug Boat Strikes Kill 6

Pair of boats destroyed in the eastern Pacific bring total number of US hits at 19 since September

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday announced the latest in a series of strikes on boats accused of ferrying drugs—six people were killed in attacks on two vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The dual strikes on Sunday bring the total number of known attacks up to 19 and...

Senate Narrowly Rejects Putting Check on Attacking Venezuela

Just two Republicans break ranks in vote, though several fall short of endorsing Trump taking military action

(Newser) - The Senate narrowly voted down a proposal Thursday that would have required congressional approval before President Trump could launch military operations against Venezuela. The measure, backed largely by Democrats and two Republicans, failed 49-51, marking the second time in a month that lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully to limit the administration'...

Portugal Intercepts Narco-Sub Carrying 1.7 Tons of Cocaine

Crew members from 4 countries arrested after mid-Atlantic bust

(Newser) - Portuguese authorities have intercepted a narco-submarine carrying more than 1.7 tons of cocaine in the mid-Atlantic, arresting four crew members from South America and sinking the vessel after deeming it too fragile to tow ashore, the BBC reports. The semi-submersible, believed to be headed for the Iberian Peninsula, was...

Europe's Most Wanted Drug Boss Hides in Plain Sight

New Yorker reports that Daniel Kinahan of Ireland operates a 'Super Cartel' out of Dubai

(Newser) - Daniel Kinahan is a native of Ireland who now runs the family business started by his father from Dubai. What's particularly unusual is that the family business is otherwise known as the Kinahan Organized Crime Group, and the 40-something Kinahan is considered to be one of the most notorious...

US Reportedly About to Hit Venezuela With Airstrikes

Miami Herald says Trump administration sees the military targets as cogs in drug smuggling outfit

(Newser) - President Trump may be about to escalate his fight against Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro in a big way: The Miami Herald , citing unnamed sources, reports that the Trump administration has decided to launch airstrikes against military installations in the country. The White House accuses Maduro of running a drug-trafficking enterprise...

Indictment: Sheriffs, Officers Took Drug Trafficking Bribes

Federal investigation covered law enforcement in Mississippi Delta region

(Newser) - Federal authorities announced indictments against 20 people on Thursday, including 14 current or former Mississippi Delta law enforcement officers, that allege the officers took bribes to provide safe passage to people they believed were drug traffickers. The yearslong investigation swept across multiple counties in the Mississippi Delta region of Mississippi...

Hegseth Says US Strikes 4 Alleged Drug-Running Boats

14 killed, with one survivor in eastern Pacific

(Newser) - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the US military carried out three strikes Monday in the waters of the eastern Pacific against boats suspected of carrying drugs, killing 14 and leaving one survivor. The announcement made on social media on Tuesday marks a continued escalation in the pace of the...

Venezuela: Trump Is Plotting Regime Change

Lindsey Graham appears to confirm Trump wants Nicolás Maduro out—and may strike soon

(Newser) - A top Venezuelan official is accusing President Trump of actively trying to topple the government of Nicolás Maduro. Tarek William Saab, Venezuela's attorney general and a close Maduro ally, told the BBC that there is "no doubt" Trump is seeking regime change and wants to turn Venezuela...

On a Tropical Isle, Possible Grim Hints of US Strikes

Bodies with burn marks, missing limbs have washed ashore from the Caribbean in Trinidad

(Newser) - In Trinidad, a grim mystery has surfaced along the island's northeastern coast: mutilated bodies washing ashore shortly after US military strikes in the Caribbean. The first corpse, bearing burn marks and missing limbs, appeared in Cumana soon after a widely reported US attack on a boat in early September,...

Wanted in US and Mexico, 'Brother Wang' Nabbed in Cuba

Alleged money launderer, drug trafficker Zhi Dong Zhang was captured after global manhunt

(Newser) - A suspected Chinese fentanyl trafficker accused of running a global money-laundering operation and wanted by both the US and Mexico has been arrested in Cuba after fleeing house arrest in Mexico, officials confirmed Wednesday. The suspect, Zhi Dong Zhang—aka "Brother Wang"—is alleged to have collaborated with...

Trump Threatens Colombia After Accusation on US Strike

Petro says a fisherman with no ties to drug industry was killed

(Newser) - President Trump escalated tensions with Colombia on Sunday, publicly labeling President Gustavo Petro an "illegal drug leader" and announcing he's ending aid to the country. Petro had suggested the death of a Colombian fisherman in a recent strike in the Caribbean was murder, claiming it was a...

China Sentences 11 to Death in Crackdown on 'Scam Kingpins'

'Mafia-like' crime family responsible for deaths of those forced to work in scam centers

(Newser) - A Chinese court has handed down death sentences to 11 members of the Ming family, a group that authorities say helped transform a quiet Myanmar border town into a center for gambling, drugs, and large-scale scams, the BBC reports. According to Chinese state media, the decision comes after dozens...

He Was a Star at Busting Drug Traffickers, Then Became One

The Assembly looks at how police officer Freddie Huff used his skills to become a drug trafficker

(Newser) - Freddie Wayne Huff was once a model cop, hailed as a "superstar" for his knack at sniffing out drug smugglers on North Carolina highways—a reputation that brought millions in cash seizures and made him a DEA-certified instructor. But Huff's career crashed in 2014 when he was...

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