WASHINGTON: The US Justice Department unsealed indictments on Tuesday against four members of one of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels accused of seeking to purchase arms and ammunition in the Czech Republic.
The four alleged members of the Jalisco New Generation cartel, known by its Spanish acronym CJNG, were arrested in the Czech Republic in June, Justice Department officials said.
Two of the defendants — Edgar Alejandro Lopez Velasco, 44, and Jose Miguel Alvarado Morales, 23 — have been extradited to the United States and made a court appearance in Tampa, Florida, on Monday, they said.
Extradition is pending for the other two accused — Noe Diaz Jimenez, 33, and Leobardo Gaxiola Lopez, 63, also known as “Bado,” the officials said.
The four alleged CJNG members are charged with drug importation conspiracy, firearms trafficking and other offenses which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Lopez Velasco and Diaz Jimenez negotiated the sale of weapons in the Czech Republic “to commit acts of violence against rival cartels, civilians, police forces, and military personnel in Mexico,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
“These weapons included different kinds of European machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, mortar launchers, and accompanying ammunition and ordnance,” it said.
“In exchange for the weapons, the defendants paid in the form of fentanyl and methamphetamine imported into the United States for distribution,” it said.
The United States last week announced charges against several high-ranking members of CJNG and increased reward money for the capture of its leaders to more than $100 million.
CJNG was designated a “foreign terrorist organization” by the Trump administration last year and is accused of running an ultra-violent global network trafficking in fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.
