The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced Monday that more than 600 people were arrested in a weeklong series of operations aimed at dismantling the Sinaloa drug cartel.
Between Aug. 25 and Aug. 29, agents carried out coordinated actions across 23 U.S. field divisions and seven foreign regions, resulting in 617 arrests. Authorities seized 480 kilograms of fentanyl powder, more than 700,000 counterfeit pills, around 2,200 kilograms of methamphetamine, 7,500 kilograms of cocaine, and 16 kilograms of heroin. The operations also netted $12.8 million in currency and assets, along with 420 firearms.
The DEA described the actions as a coordinated effort that combined enforcement, intelligence gathering, and domestic and international collaboration. “These results demonstrate the full weight of DEA’s commitment to protecting the American people,” DEA Administrator Terrance Cole said. “DEA will not relent until the Sinaloa Cartel is dismantled from top to bottom.”
The Sinaloa cartel, considered the world’s largest drug trafficking organization, was designated a terrorist group under a February executive order by President Donald Trump. The order also named seven other cartels, including Jalisco New Generation, as terrorist organizations.
The Justice Department has since made breaking up the cartels a top priority. The August arrests followed a series of high-profile prosecutions. In August, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada Garcia, a founding leader of the Sinaloa cartel, pleaded guilty to federal charges including drug trafficking, firearms, and money laundering. Prosecutors in New York and Texas alleged he and other leaders were responsible for distributing vast amounts of heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, and other drugs throughout the United States.
Earlier last month, Mexico transferred 26 senior cartel members to the United States as part of an agreement with the Trump administration. Those included leaders tied to both Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa, as well as other violent groups.
The Sinaloa Cartel remains one of the most significant threats to public safety, public health and our national security,” the DEA said in its announcement. “There are tens of thousands of Sinaloa members, associates, and facilitators operating worldwide, in at least 40 countries who are responsible for the production, manufacturing, distribution, and operations related to trafficking dangerous and deadly synthetic drugs.
