DEA Reportedly Managed To Infiltrate Sinaloa Cartel To Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Operations

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) managed to infiltrate the Sinaloa Cartel as it sought to disrupt fentanyl trafficking operations, according to a new report.

Specialized journalist Anabel Hernandez detailed that agency informants embedded within the criminal organization and began supplying information, getting testimonies, undercover purchases and recordings to help build a case.

Mexican federal forces and U.S. security agencies identified these operations as a turning point for the faction of the cartel known as the Chapitos.

The DEA linked fentanyl distribution in California to the group through two people: one was Los Angeles resident Mariel Lino, who sold 10,000 fentanyl pills to an undercover agent. The operation was recorded with a hidden camera and helped advance the operation.

The agency was also following a man known as "Mateo," who had a direct link with the Chapitos and was able to access synthetic drug labs in Mexico.

Following the sale made by Lino, authorities fitted her car with a GPS, a move that eventually led to the arrests of two accomplices: Bryan Alberto Gonzalez and Juan Ayala. Both had drugs in them when apprehended. Prosecutors argue these operations provide direct evidence connecting Los Chapitos to fentanyl trafficking into the U.S.

Such operations have allowed U.S. ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson to say cartels are "going bankrupt." Johnson made the claim in a social media publication last week, echoing a previous statement by White House border czar Tom Homan, who said criminal organizations are "broke."

"We have a safe border, patrols are doing their job. Cartels are suffering and president Trump, with his effort and leadership, will wipe cartels off the face of the earth. This will make not only the U.S. safer, but also Mexico," Homan added then.

Johnson, on his end, said he backed Homan's statements, adding that "in Mexico fentanyl seizures are up." "Under Donald Trump and Claudia Sheinbaum's leadership, cartels are going bankrupt and our countries are safer because of it," he added.