A passenger who allegedly made a bomb threat aboard an Alaska Airlines flight from Atlanta to Seattle on July 4 has claimed he did so because he feared he would be killed by members of a “powerful cartel.” Brandon Scott, 38, was seated first class onboard Alaska Airlines flight 334 on Wednesday as it departed…

The United States announced on May 9 it has sanctioned four members of the Sinaloa Cartel—including the son of druglord “El Chapo”—for their alleged role in illicit trade of fentanyl and other drugs. The U.S. Treasury Department also announced it has sanctioned two Mexico-based companies. Financial sanctions were levied against JoaquÍn Guzmán López, Saúl Páez López,…

The Department of Justice announced charges against more than two dozen individuals of the Mexico-based Sinaloa Cartel for alleged illegal trafficking of fentanyl and other drugs. The charges, announced in an April 14 press conference, target 33 people, including “the Chapitos,” the sons of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman: Joaquin Guzman Lopez,…

This is the fifth and final article in a series on illegal drug and human smuggling along Arizona’s border with Mexico. ARIVACA, Ariz.—The first gunshots seemed to come down the mountain on the other side of Arizona’s border fence with Mexico, just east of Arivaca, where rival drug cartel factions battle to the death for…

This is the fifth and final article in a series on illegal drug and human smuggling along Arizona’s border with Mexico. ARIVACA, Ariz.—The first gunshots seemed to come down the mountain on the other side of Arizona’s border fence with Mexico, just east of Arivaca, where rival drug cartel factions battle to the death for…

This is the second article in a series on illegal drug and human smuggling along Arizona’s border with Mexico. CASA GRANDE, Ariz.—Mexican drug cartel money drives international human smuggling operations in the United States, said Sam, owner of a private investigation company in Arizona that deals with border security issues. Without it, the industry wouldn’t…

A major drug trafficker and money launderer for the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel was sentenced to 188 months in prison for supervising the smuggling of multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin from Mexico into the United States. through Southern California and smuggling drug proceeds back to Mexico. His prison term follows the sentencing of at…

A joint federal and local drug task force seized in mid-December a record 1.7 million fentanyl pills in a sweeping crackdown on illegal drugs entering the United States from Mexico. “As U.S. overdose deaths reach a devastating new height, claiming a new victim every five minutes, the (federal) Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has revealed a…

Four high-ranking members of the Sinaloa cartel were indicted on federal charges of international drug trafficking on Nov. 5, the Department of Justice announced. According to the DOJ, a federal grand jury indicted Aureliano Guzman-Loera of Sinaloa, Mexico, and brothers Ruperto, Jose, and Heriberto Salgueiro-Nevarez of Guadalupe Y Calvo, Mexico. The four high-ranking members of the cartel…