The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned four Mexican nationals last week, accusing them of trafficking large quantities of fentanyl and other dangerous substances into the United States on behalf of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most dangerous criminal organizations.

The United States sanctioned on Wednesday a Sinaloa cartel boss and seven other Mexicans for smuggling tons of fentanyl and other drugs into the U.S., the Department of Treasury said in a statement.

Just days after the opposition leader and former presidential candidate fled the country, prosecutors in Mexico have accused Ricardo Anaya of taking a US$525,000 bribe tied to Brazilian construction company Odebrecht.

Mexican authorities rearrested on Monday one of the seven brothers who ran the notorious Mexican Arellano Felix cartel that used to move tons of drugs from Mexico and Colombia to the United States.

OCCRP is expanding editorial operations into the U.S. and Canada and has named award-winning investigative journalist Kevin G. Hall as its first North America editor. Hall will be based in Washington, D.C., and will lead OCCRP investigations in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. He will also work with more than 40 editors around the world on cross-border investigations and build collaborations and partnerships with key North American media outlets.

Kevin G. Hall.

In an unprecedented move, Mexican officials have sued Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Century Arms, Colt, Glock, Ruger, Barrett and Boston-based gun wholesaler Interstate Arms for negligence in an attempt to halt the ‘iron river’ of guns that flow from the United States every year and end up in the hands of criminals and cartels.

When their children were killed or abducted, the parents of Ayotzinapa relentlessly petitioned their government for truth and justice. But even as they placed their hopes in the federal government, it may have targeted them for invasive surveillance.

Mexican authorities announced that they have overturned the acquittal of former Sinaloa cartel leader Hector Luis Palma Salazar, who ruled the syndicate alongside his childhood friend Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman from the late 1980s until his arrest in 1995. 

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) in Mexico condemned the recent murders of two local journalists who were gunned down in separate attacks last week.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office announced last week that three members of the so-called Riviera Maya gang will be tried in connection to compromising ATM machines across the country to steal credit card details from tourists and withdraw money from their accounts.

Florian Tudor, the alleged leader of an organized criminal group that stole over a billion dollars by compromising ATMs in tourist destinations across Mexico, was transferred to a maximum security prison on Saturday, Mexican media reported.

Spanish police announced on Tuesday that they have dismantled “one of the largest cocaine distribution networks” in Spain’s northern region of Castilla y León, arresting three people, including the group’s leader, and seizing 862kg of black cocaine disguised as coal.  

Acting on an extradition request made by Romania, Mexican authorities arrested on Thursday Florian Tudor, the alleged leader of an organized criminal group that stole more than a billion dollars by compromising ATMs in tourist destinations across Mexico.

Armed men killed a conservationist and community leader in the Mexican state of Guerrero after locals repeatedly complained about illegal logging and urged authorities to tackle the issue and stop the nationwide wave of violence targeting environmental activists.

Sanctions can help deter corruption, recover misappropriated funds and assist “the seizure, forfeiture and recovery processes” of ill-gotten assets, experts say.

Mexican authorities arrested the mayor of Asunción Nochixtlán, a town some 300 kilometers southeast of Mexico City, and two others believed to be responsible for the disappearance of British-Mexican activist Claudia Uruchurtu Cruz who took part in anti-corruption protests the day she went missing.

The son of the leader of Mexico’s notorious Sinaloa Cartel pleaded guilty in a U.S. court to drug trafficking and agreed to forfeit US$5 million in proceeds, a statement from the Department of Justice said. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for April next year.

After obtaining the full case file of the investigation into the murder of Mexican journalist Regina Martínez, OCCRP is releasing the documents in full.

One of Mexico’s most violent cartels has introduced a new tactic in its war against the government and attacked the country’s security forces with explosive drones in at least three states last week, authorities said. 

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) urged the public not to buy vaccines on the Internet after it received reports that counterfeit COVID-19 jabs are being sold via social media in Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.