Mexican cartels’ activities put Brazil on alert

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) list of ten most wanted criminals includes four heads of two of the world’s most dangerous and violent cartels – the Sinaloa Cartel, whose most notorious leader, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, is in prison and has admitted to killing at least 2. 000 people.

And the Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), which engages in international trafficking of synthetic drugs, conducts kidnappings, incites murders, and is currently considered the most powerful criminal group in Mexico.

Veja had access to a report that indicates a movement that has been observed for some time and has intensified in recent years, attracting the attention of the authorities: These cartels, which previously concentrated their activities in North America, are expanding their activities throughout South America, especially in countries bordering Brazil.

The document, prepared by the Brazilian Embassy in Mexico based on information gathered by the intelligence services of several countries on the continent, reports that the cartels are already operating intensively in Ecuador and Chile.

Several shipments of drugs coming directly from Mexican ports have been seized, a laboratory linked to the CJNG has been dismantled, and drug traffickers linked to Sinaloa have been arrested.

There is evidence that the Mexicans also operate in Paraguay and Bolivia and use Suriname, Guyana, and French Guiana as warehouses to export drugs to Europe.

What is new is the push into Brazil, which not only serves as a transit corridor to other continents but is also one of the largest consumer markets for cocaine and synthetic drugs in the world.

Federal police have already uncovered links between the cartels and criminal gangs such as the PCC, but there is no evidence that the Mexicans are operating directly in Brazil.

Authorities hypothesize that the expansion of Sinaloa and Jalisco may have landed in Brazil as one of its main targets.

“With a market that is virtually the same size as all the other economies in South America combined, Brazil offers a greater opportunity to maintain organizations focused on laundering cartel money without attracting too much attention,” retired federal police officer Jorge Pontes tells Veja.

“You have to be very attentive to this push. One country cannot confront international criminals of this magnitude alone. The report prepared by the embassy contains other suspicions.”

The Mexican cartels’ new bases are being established in countries where smugglers lack oversight, leniency, and even direct support from some governments.

And he cites two examples: Venezuela, which would offer “facilities” to facilitate the reception of the gangs, and, more recently, Peru, which has become a magnet again after the relaxation of regulations and instruments to combat drug trafficking.

“Information from Peru states that of the 25,000 hectares that are the annual target of the National Anti-drug Policy, only 600 hectares (coca plantations) have been eradicated and that the new Minister of the Interior (Juan Manuel Carrasco) has ordered to stop eradication operations after the new ultra-left government of that country took office,” the document states. The coca leaf is the raw material for the production of cocaine.

With respect to Venezuela, the suspicions are more serious. Caracas would provide logistics to drug traffickers who want to establish themselves in the country. In the criminal world, criminals dedicated to drug trafficking are aware that cocaine flows in and through Venezuela, as in neighboring Colombia, criminal organizations struggle to penetrate the country and benefit from the “facilitations Venezuela offers to drug trafficking,” the report states.

When asked, the Peruvian embassy said it is pursuing an anti-drug policy until 2030 that includes “targeted and sustained eradication of coca plantations.” The Venezuelan diplomatic mission had no comment.

For police chief Bráulio do Carmo Vieira de Melo, deputy secretary for integrated operations at the Ministry of Justice, the agency responsible for systematizing and coordinating actions to combat border crime, Brazil is aware of the problem and has worked hard to curb drug trafficking along its more than 17,000 kilometers of borders.

Last year, 592 tons of drugs and 77 million reais in cash were seized, and 229 people were arrested in the region.

With information from Veja