Law Enforcement Joins Forces To Attack Mexican Drug Cartels And Associates
DALLAS, TX - Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials have joined forces in a series of coordinated strikes against Mexican drug cartels and their associates who operate across the United States. Operations in Central America, Colombia, and Brazil are also ongoing. DEA and its law enforcement counterparts have mobilized to increase pressure on these organizations at every level.
In a joint statement, John Chakwin, the Special Agent in Charge of ICE Dallas and James L. Capra, the Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Division of DEA said, “We will not allow the brutal targeting and murder of a U.S. Law Enforcement Agent in Mexico to remain unanswered. The violent and destructive acts perpetrated by drug trafficking organizations upon the people of this nation, as well as Mexico, are being responded to today by a robust and unified enforcement of the law throughout the United States and Latin America. The DEA is proud to apply our full resources, energies and expertise, along with our partners, to this crucial operation.”
Thus far in the operations within the Dallas Field Division area of responsibility, the DEA and its partners have made 57 arrests, and seized approximately 70 pounds of methamphetamine, 40 kilograms of cocaine, 200 pounds of marijuana, 36 weapons, and over $2 million in U.S. currency, gold bullion, and other assets.
These series of operations illustrate the continued urgency to attack these brutal Mexican cartels and trafficking associates with a unified front.
The recent tragic, but premeditated and brutal, murder of a U.S. Federal Agent in Mexico reiterates the need for powerful and sustained law enforcement response toward eliminating the brutal drug cartels in Mexico, their associates in the United States, and other criminal elements we face. The DEA and its law enforcement counterparts have mobilized to escalate our enforcement efforts against these organizations at every level, and with greater force than ever. As we move forward with a unified effort against the Mexican cartels, we do so with our law enforcement and international partners beside us. Challenging the status quo and holding the traffickers accountable has been a hallmark of President Calderon’s government in Mexico. Our counterparts on the front line in Mexico have also shared in these tragic sacrifices losing many dedicated officers in this fight.
The DEA believes that the recent and sustained violence in Mexico is driven in large measure by the Government of Mexico’s proactive actions against the traffickers, along with other variables, such as cartel on cartel violence. As such, the extraordinary level of violence in Mexico unfortunately is an indication of successful law-and-order campaigns by military and law enforcement officials in Mexico.
The DEA, ICE, U.S. Marshals, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and other federal, state, and local entities are attacking these organizations at every level throughout North Texas, Oklahoma, and other locations throughout the United States, while working with our foreign counterparts in Mexico and Central and South America.
