US Charges 4 Cartel Members in Weapons-for-Fentanyl Plot

The Justice Department on Tuesday unsealed indictments against four alleged members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico's most powerful drug trafficking organizations, accusing them of trying to buy weapons in the Czech Republic in exchange for drugs.

The four were arrested in the Czech Republic in June. Two of them, Edgar Alejandro Lopez Velasco, 44, and Jose Miguel Alvarado Morales, 23, have since been extradited to the United States and appeared in federal court in Tampa, Florida, on Monday. Extradition remains pending for the other two defendants, Noe Diaz Jimenez, 33, and Leobardo Gaxiola Lopez, 63, who is also known as "Bado."

All four face charges of drug importation conspiracy, firearms trafficking and other offenses that carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

According to the Justice Department, Lopez Velasco and Diaz Jimenez negotiated the purchase of weapons in the Czech Republic "to commit acts of violence against rival cartels, civilians, police forces, and military personnel in Mexico." The weapons allegedly included European-made machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, mortar launchers and ammunition.

"In exchange for the weapons, the defendants paid in the form of fentanyl and methamphetamine imported into the United States for distribution," the department said in a statement.

The indictments come a week after the United States announced charges against several high-ranking CJNG members and raised reward money for information leading to the capture of its leaders to more than $100 million, including $25 million for the cartel's alleged leader, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, known as "Pelón." The State Department said Gonzalez was born in Santa Ana, California, on September 12, 1984.

Officials said the new charges and rewards are meant to help cripple the cartel's leadership as President Trump pressures Mexico and other Latin American governments to crack down on drug trafficking organizations.

CJNG is one of eight Mexican cartels designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization. The group suffered a major setback in February when its longtime leader, Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," was killed in a Mexican military operation that used U.S. intelligence, triggering a spike in violence in the state of Jalisco.

Last month, the Trump administration sanctioned 50 people and companies linked to the cartel, including Gonzalez, freezing assets and barring U.S. financial transactions with them. In June, the Treasury Department issued a new bank alert targeting CJNG.