LatinNews Daily - 12 May 2025

Mexico: On 6 May US federal authorities announced the arrest of 16 individuals and seizure of “record-breaking quantities of fentanyl, cash, firearms, and vehicles across multiple states,” in what it described as a “significant blow” against Mexico’s Cártel de Sinaloa. According to a statement by the US Justice Department, operations were carried out in multiple states, including Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Utah. It cites Robert Murphy, the acting administrator of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as saying that “three million fentanyl pills” were seized. Those arrested were charged with various offences including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. The US Justice Department alleges that the leader of the drug trafficking ring is Heriberto Salazar Amaya, who was among those charged, and who the DEA describes as “a key U.S.-based operative for the Sinaloa Cartel and [who] is in the country illegally”.  According to the DEA, “beyond the mountain of drug charges”, Salazar Amaya also faces three immigration-related offences: illegal re-entry after deportation, employing unauthorised aliens, and conspiracy to harbour them. The Cártel de Sinaloa was one of six Mexican cartels designated by US President Donald Trump as foreign terrorist organisations (FTOs) in February, along with Tren de Aragua, a transnational criminal group originating from Venezuela, and Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), one of two main street gangs in Central America.

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