CHANTILLY, Va. -- In early-morning raids Wednesday, agents fanned out across the United States, culminating a six-month investigation with the primary goal of dismantling the upper echelon of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and hoping to get closer to capturing its leader, one of the most wanted men in America.
There's a $10 million reward for the arrest of Nemesio "El Mencho" Oseguera.
The gang, known as CJNG, controls between one-third and two-thirds of the U.S. drug market. It is so violent that members leave piles of bodies in streets and hanging from overpasses in Mexico, and they fill the city of Guadalajara with mass graves. They carry machine guns and hand grenades. They once used rocket launchers to shoot down a Mexican military helicopter.
More than 600 people have been arrested during the operation in recent months, more than 33,000 pounds of meth was seized and nearly $20 million taken as search and arrest warrants were executed. About 250 were arrested Wednesday.
"El Mencho and his associates prey on the addicts, and they prey on small towns where they can act as bullies and infiltrate these small towns," said Wendy Woolcok, the special agent in charge of Drug Enforcement Administration's special operations division. "They promise hope, and they deliver despair."
For the U.S, combating Mexico's fastest-growing and most violent gang is a top priority. Law enforcement officials believe the gang has drug distribution hubs in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta. It is believed to have a presence in 24 of Mexico's 32 states.
"Their propensity to violence is a big part of it, they're a very violent organization, they're a well-armed organization, but really the gasoline that was thrown on the fire was synthetic drugs," said Bill Bodner, the special agent in charge of the DEA's field office in Los Angeles.
The Associated Press had exclusive access to the raid outside Los Angeles and the national command center. In California, about a dozen team members prepped early Wednesday for their target. They searched the home, a stately, Spanish Colonial-style with a large chandelier in the foyer, and crawled on the ground to look under cars in the driveway. No shots were fired.
Victor Ochoa, 34, was arrested on drug charges. The DEA alleges he acts as a stash house manager for the cartel.
At the command center tucked inside a nondescript government building in northern Virginia, a dozen analysts and agents sat behind computer screens inside a conference room. As agents were banging down doors across the country, the phones rang at the command center and analysts recorded the number of arrests and amount of drugs seized on printed worksheets.
The special agent in charge of the special operations division assembled with her team in front of a heat map -- red dots glowing darker and darker as more arrests were made, primarily in Texas, California and New Jersey.
Information for this article was contributed by Mark Stevenson of The Associated Press.
A Section on 03/12/2020