Mexican Cartel Suspects Nabbed In Hundreds In U.S. Raids

Enlarge Kevin Wolf/AP Photo

Attorney General Eric Holder speaks with reporters about another major series of raids against the Mexican drug cartel known as La Familia, as FBI Director Robert Muller (l) and and Acting Drug Enforcement Administrator Michele Leonhart and Acting Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Director Kenneth Melson listen.

Kevin Wolf/AP Photo

Attorney General Eric Holder speaks with reporters about another major series of raids against the Mexican drug cartel known as La Familia, as FBI Director Robert Muller (l) and and Acting Drug Enforcement Administrator Michele Leonhart and Acting Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Director Kenneth Melson listen.

Law enforcement officials believe they landed another blow in their battle against Mexican drug cartels with two days of raids and arrests this week on alleged members of the crime organization known as La Familia.

The two days of raids by more than 3,000 federal, state and local law-enforcement agents and officers, resulted in the arrest of 303 people in 19 states, the Justice Department said. Authorities also confiscated "$3.4 million in U.S. currency, 729 pounds of methamphetamine, 62 kilograms of cocaine, 967 pounds of marijuana, 144 weapons and 109 vehicles."

The arrests and confiscations are part of the larger "Project Coronado" which has lasted for 44-months and led to the arrest of almost 1,200 people and seizure of more than 11.7 tons of narcotics.

From a Justice Department press release quoting Attorney General Eric Holder:

"This unprecedented, coordinated U.S. law enforcement action - the largest ever undertaken against a Mexican drug cartel - has dealt a significant blow to La Familia's supply chain of illegal drugs, weapons and cash flowing between Mexico and the United States," said Attorney General Holder. "We will not allow these cartels to operate unfettered in our country, and with the increases in cooperation between U.S. and Mexican authorities in recent years, we are taking the fight to our adversaries. We will continue to stand strong with our partners in Mexico as we work to disrupt and dismantle cartel operations on both sides of the border."

The La Familia cartel is a violent drug trafficking cartel based in the state of Michoac??n, in southwestern Mexico. According to court documents, La Familia controls drug manufacturing and distribution in and around Michoac??n, including the importation of vast quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States. La Familia is philosophically opposed to the sale of methamphetamine to Mexicans, and instead supports its export to the United States for consumption by Americans. La Familia is a heavily armed cartel that has utilized violence to support its narcotics trafficking business including murders, kidnappings and assaults. According to one indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York, associates of La Familia based in the United States have allegedly acquired military-grade weapons, including assault weapons and ammunition, and have arranged for them to be smuggled back into Mexico for use by La Familia. In a criminal complaint filed in Dallas, ATF investigators allege that operatives of La Familia shipped hundreds of firearms from the U.S. to Mexico over a 12-month period ending in October 2009. Individuals indicted in the cases are charged with a variety of crimes, including: conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana; distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana; conspiracy to import narcotics into the United States; money laundering; and other violations of federal law. Numerous defendants face forfeiture allegations as well.