Thursday, February 27, 2025

Deal with the Cartel

 From Sharyl Attkisson:

President Trump has named eight killer drug cartels to the list of foreign terrorist organizations. That’s part of his effort to secure the US southern border and cut down on trafficking of fentanyl and other illegal drugs that have been distributed in record proportions in the past four years.

Trump’s executive order names the infamous Tren de Aragua in Venezuela; Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) based in El Salvaor; and Cártel de Sinaloa, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación, Cártel del Noreste (formerly Los Zetas), La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Cártel de Golfo (Gulf Cartel), and Cárteles Unidos, all in Mexico, as terrorist organizations. That designation opens up a host of new enforcement actions and penalties for those dealing with the criminal groups.

But you might be surprised to know that the US admits having a signed cooperation agreement with at least one of these groups: Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel.

I was surprised this story didn’t receive more attention when I first reported it in 2011.

At the time, I was breaking shocking news on the “Fast and Furious” controversy where the US was actually engaged in secret operations to facilitate the delivery of assault rifles and other weapons into the hands of Mexican cartels.

Many sources and law enforcement officials were telling me that it was an open secret in their corners that the US cooperated with the Sinaloa cartel in order to supposedly get information on other cartels that we considered worse, such as the Zetas. We were even allowing the Sinaloa cartel to traffic drugs in America— or so the story was told.

While it sounds unbelievable, there seemed to be confirmation that came in a court case in Chicago against a key Sinaloa cartel member, the son of a top Sinaloa leader. (Read more.)

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