Savage drug lord tied to torture, murder of DEA agent dragged to US to face justice after Trump pressures Mexico over cartels



One of the most ruthless cartel kingpins in Mexico, believed to have masterminded the brutal torture and murder of an American DEA agent 40 years ago, has been extradited to the U.S. to face justice.

In 1985, 37-year-old Enrique “Kiki” Camarena was working under cover in Mexico on behalf of the DEA when he and his pilot were abducted and beaten mercilessly for approximately 30 hours before they eventually died.

On March 5 that year, they were found by the side of a road about 60 miles southwest of Guadalajara, the Washington Times reported. They were wrapped in plastic and discarded like garbage.

Camarena's skull, face, and windpipe had been smashed, and a hole had been drilled into his head by a screwdriver, the Times said. He was also reportedly injected with drugs during the beating so that he would remain conscious.

Screenshot of portrait of Special Agent Enrique Camarena from DEA website.

Camarena had apparently been targeted because he fed Mexican authorities information about a 2,500-acre marijuana farm belonging to Rafael Caro Quintero, believed to be a founder of the Guadalajara cartel. Quintero was later convicted of Camarena's murder in a Mexican court and sentenced to 40 years behind bars.

In 2013, after serving 28 years, Quintero was released from prison on a technicality. Though the Mexican Supreme Court overturned the ruling that sprang him from prison, Quintero then went on the run and joined forces with the Sinaloa cartel, an offshoot of the Guadalajara cartel.

He remained on the loose until July 2022, when members of the Mexican Navy captured him in Sinaloa. His capture came at great cost, however, after a helicopter carrying Mexican military personnel assigned to his case crashed in a nearby town, killing 14 Mexican Marines.

'When he goes to trial, the Kiki homicide will come out, and the fact he ordered the killing will be revealed.'

Quintero has been under indictment on federal drug-trafficking charges in the U.S. since at least 2020. Now, he will finally appear in U.S. court after he and nearly 30 other alleged cartel affiliates have been extradited from Mexico to the United States.

Quintero faces charges in New York, Texas, and California, but is expected to appear in Brooklyn Federal Court on Friday.

The Trump administration, which has leaned heavily on Mexico to do more to rein in the deadly cartels, promised that Quintero and the 28 other defendants would be brought to justice.

"As President Trump has made clear, cartels are terrorist groups, and this Department of Justice is devoted to destroying cartels and transnational gangs," Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.

"We will prosecute these criminals to the fullest extent of the law in honor of the brave law enforcement agents who have dedicated their careers — and in some cases, given their lives — to protect innocent people from the scourge of violent cartels. We will not rest until we secure justice for the American people."

DEA acting Administrator Derek Maltz said Quintero's name in particular "stands above the rest" for the DEA family.

"This moment is extremely personal for the men and women of DEA who believe Caro Quintero is responsible for the brutal torture and murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique ‘Kiki’ Camarena. It is also a victory for the Camarena family. Today sends a message to every cartel leader, every trafficker, every criminal poisoning our communities: You will be held accountable. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far you run, justice will find you."

Ray Donovan, the former head of the New York DEA office who is believed to have captured notorious Mexican drug lord El Chapo, likewise told the New York Post that Quintero's extradition was "personal."

"This is bigger than Chapo for me and every other DEA agent," Donovan said. "This was personal."

Quintero does face a slew of charges, but as of now, murder is not one of them. However, Donovan believes Quintero will still be held to account for Camarena's horrific death and the sorrow of his widow and son, both of whom are still alive.

"When he goes to trial, the Kiki homicide will come out, and the fact he ordered the killing will be revealed," Donovan said.

Mexican authorities also acknowledged the importance of the extraditions for both countries involved. "This action is part of the work of coordination, cooperation, and bilateral reciprocity within the framework of respect for the sovereignty of both nations," the Mexican Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Even the New York Times, which gave much of the credit for the extraditions to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, had to admit that "Mexican officials’ concession appeared to be an early win for President Trump."

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Luigi Mangione waives right to extradition hearing, headed to New York to face charges



Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, on Thursday morning waived his right to an extradition hearing and was placed on a flight to New York to face charges, NBC News reported.

Mangione appeared in a Blair County, Pennsylvania, court Thursday morning for a preliminary hearing and to address extradition, NBC News said, adding that the hearing ended with the judge ordering that Mangione be taken into the custody of the New York City Police Department instead of returning to Huntingdon State Correctional Institution.

The New York Times, citing two law enforcement officials, reported that Mangione was found with a notebook that read, 'What do you do? You wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention. It’s targeted, precise, and doesn’t risk innocents.'

With that, Mangione — dressed in an orange jumpsuit — was placed in a black SUV, and around 10:40 a.m., an NYPD motorcade with Pennsylvania state police was seen at Altoona-Blair County Airport where Mangione was placed on a small plane, NBC News said.

The flight to New York took off about 10 minutes later, the news network said.

NBC News said Mangione is expected to make an initial appearance Thursday in federal court in lower Manhattan.

What's the background?

Surveillance video showed a figure walking up behind Thompson outside a Hilton hotel in Manhattan on the morning of Dec. 4 and shooting him. The suspected shooter reportedly used a bicycle to get away from the scene.

Photo by Alex Kent/Getty Images

Bullet casings found at the shooting scene apparently were inscribed with words referring to health insurance claim denial tactics.

Just hours after the fatal shooting, Thompson's wife said her husband had been threatened. Paulette Thompson told NBC News in a phone call that "there had been some threats. Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him."

The day after the shooting, police released a still photo of the suspect showing his face — and NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny later said that photo was a key element in capturing their suspect.

On the morning of Dec. 9, a McDonald's customer in Altoona, Pennsylvania — which is about two hours east of Pittsburgh — spotted Mangione, notified an employee, and soon police arrived to question him, the Associated Press reported.

An exterior view of the McDonald's restaurant where Luigi Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania.Photo by ADAM GRAY/AFP via Getty Images

Police indicated in a criminal complaint that they recognized Mangione as soon as he pulled down his mask at their request in the restaurant. When they asked Mangione if he'd been in New York City recently, police said he was quiet but started shaking.

Later Monday, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters that Altoona police arrested Mangione on firearm charges and that he was believed to be “our person of interest." Manhattan prosecutors that night filed murder and other charges against the 26-year-old Ivy League graduate, the AP said.

'Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming'

The AP — citing a law enforcement official unauthorized to discuss the investigation publicly and who spoke with the outlet on the condition of anonymity — said a three-page, handwritten document found in Mangione’s possession includes a line in which he claims to have acted alone.

“To the feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone,” the document said, according to the official who spoke with the AP.

The document also contains the following line, the AP reported: “I do apologize for any strife or traumas, but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming.”

According to the New York Times, the 262-word "manifesto" also says that as UnitedHealthcare’s market capitalization has grown, American life expectancy has not — and it condemns companies that “continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it.”

Last week, police said Mangione's fingerprints match those found at the scene of Thompson's fatal shooting and that a notebook found on Mangione details plans for the shooting.

CNN, citing two law enforcement officials briefed on the matter, reported that Mangione's fingerprints and those collected at the shooting scene are a positive match. The New York Times, citing two law enforcement officials, reported that Mangione was found with a notebook that read, “What do you do? You wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention. It’s targeted, precise, and doesn’t risk innocents."

Mangione on Tuesday was indicted for Thompson's murder.

Anything else?

Mangione appears to have a legion of fans. NBC News said Mangione supporters were seen outside the Pennsylvania court house earlier Thursday with some carrying signs that read "Free Luigi."

Photo by ADAM GRAY/AFP via Getty Images

President-elect Donald Trump condemned support for Mangione, calling it a "sickness."

Along those lines, Thompson's killing has sparked a wave of hatred for the health care industry and threats against corporate CEOs. Chicago police last week were investigating "Kill your CEO" graffiti spray-painted in white on multiple businesses in the city, WLS-TV reported.

WLS in a related report said a New York Police Department bulletin was issued Tuesday warning of increased risk for health care executives and the possibility of copycat perps.

The station, citing the bulletin, said online posts have listed the names and salaries of several health insurance executives, multiple "Wanted" flyers highlighting corporate executives have been posted throughout Manhattan, and social media users continue to celebrate Thompson's death.

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White House denies involvement in Julian Assange deal



Julian Assange, 52, will likely soon return to his native Australia as a free man, but not because of President Joe Biden, a White House spokesperson said.

Court papers released Monday night revealed that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has spent more than a decade either holed up at an embassy or locked away in prison, had finally reached a plea deal with U.S. officials. In 2010, Assange had coordinated with Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to release information about U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

'There’s nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia.'

A few years later, Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison, but President Obama commuted his sentence before leaving office in 2017. Meanwhile, Assange languished at the Ecuadoran embassy in London, attempting to avoid extradition to Sweden on allegations of sexual assault.

The statute of limitations on the sexual assault allegations — which Assange always denied — eventually expired, but Ecuador withdrew its offer of asylum in 2019, the same year the Trump administration indicted Assange in connection with the disclosure of U.S. military information. Assange then attempted to take refuge at the embassy but was arrested by British police and thrown in jail for skipping bail, the AP reported.

He then remained behind bars for five more years until reaching the deal with U.S. officials.

On Monday night, Assange reportedly flew from London to Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth. He is expected to appear in a U.S. federal court in Saipan on Wednesday, when he will likely plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information and receive a sentence of time served.

Assange is then expected to return to his family in Australia, where leaders are almost assuredly celebrating this sudden turn of events. Earlier this year, the Australian House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to urge the U.K. and U.S. governments to let Assange return home.

"Regardless of the views that people have about Mr. Assange’s activities, the case has dragged on for too long," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at the time. "There’s nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia."

As the U.S federal government secured a conviction and Assange will likely soon have his freedom, both sides can credibly claim victory in this case. However, the Biden administration is not taking any credit for it.

"This was an independent decision made by the Department of Justice, and there was no White House involvement in the plea deal decision," said Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.

The New York Post sought comment on the subject from the DOJ but did not receive a response. The outlet also cited a source who "said they were unaware of what if any role Biden may have played in the final resolution of the case."

Back in April, Biden told reporters that he was "considering" bringing Assange's case to a conclusion but did not comment further.

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How Pro-Abortion States Are Blocking Other States From Protecting The Unborn

So-called 'abortion shield laws' will prevent pro-life states and their citizens from holding abortionists accountable.

Video shows the fatal 100 mph crash that drove a Chinese national to flee the country



A Chinese national facing vehicular homicide charges in Bellevue, Washington, has fled the United States, leaving a body, a wrecked sports car, and an international scandal in her wake.

The Bellevue Police Department responded to a single-vehicle crash on 108th Avenue NE near the interchange with State Route 520 on Sept. 30. First responders found a dead male at the scene, 27-year-old Chinese national Yabao Liu.

Ting Ye, 26, identified as the driver, was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

According to charging documents, both police and firefighters at the scene said Ye's breath reeked of booze, reported the Bellevue Reporter.

Ye appears to have been driving recklessly and speeding well over 90 mph in a 35 mph zone when she lost control of the 2020 Porsche 911 around 3:45 a.m., slammed into a concrete barrier, then went airborne.

BPD spokesman Seth Tyler suggested that the car was likely going in excess of 100 mph, reported the Daily Mail.

Footage of the incident captured by traffic cameras show the Porsche whip by at a breakneck speed, then begin to issue clouds of rubber dust while skidding perilously through an intersection. The Porsche slams sideways into a concrete barrier, then cartwheels through the air and into a ditch.

— (@)

After allegedly flouting the laws of the land and putting her passenger in the ground, Ye refused to cooperate with detectives. This refusal, coupled with the apparent inability of investigators to talk to the medics until a week after the incident, delayed efforts to establish probable cause for the Chinese national's arrest.

Although an investigator put in a request with the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office on Oct. 6 for Ye's arrest, she apparently was already scheming to get out of the country. That same day, she got out of the hospital, although it remains unclear whether she had help in doing so.

On Oct. 9, Ye had an acquaintance get her out of state and into Vancouver, Canada.

Although prosecutors filed the case on Oct. 10, requesting a $2 million bail and demanding that Ye turn over her passport and stay in Washington, she had already caught a flight back to China, reported the Seattle Times.

"At that point, she was not free to leave, but she had already left," said BPD spokesman Seth Tyler.

A conviction for vehicular homicide could land Ye up to 8.5 years in jail should she ever be brought back to face justice.

There is presently a national warrant for Ye's arrest, meaning that if she returns to the U.S., she will be flagged. However, unless she attempts to do so, she'll likely get off scot-free, as China and the U.S. do not have an extradition treaty.

Tyler indicated police are applying for an Interpol Red Notice so that countries that do have extradition treaties with the U.S. would flag her if she passes through.

Former U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke said, "The story is not over," reported the Daily Mail.

"Yes, she was able to elude the arrest warrant, but if she were to ever travel to another country, let's say to Europe on business or pleasure to an area, to a country that does have an extradition treaty with the United States she'll be flagged when she enters that country by Interpol and subject to extradition back to the United States if the United States government so desires," said Locke.

Tyler suggested that "this case has gained an intense interest in China," adding he expects "we'll hear more on that."

"Our plea to [Ye] is that she return and realize that there’s a grieving family involved here," said Tyler. "They really need closure on this. ... She can bring this matter to a close by returning to the United States."

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Biden's DOJ drops campaign finance charge against Democratic megadonor Sam Bankman-Fried



The Department of Justice has dropped its campaign finance violation charge against disgraced FTX founder and Biden donor Sam Bankman-Fried.

What's the background?

Following the November 2022 collapse of his former cryptocurrency exchange FTX, Democratic megadonor Bankman-Fried was hit with eight charges of fraud and conspiracy, including a campaign finance charge.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York wrote in a December 2022 letter to District Judge Ronnie Abrams, "The Government expects the evidence will show that the defendant violated campaign finance laws by causing political contributions to candidates and committees ... to be made in the names of co-conspirators, when in fact those contributions ere funded by Alameda Research with misappropriated customer funds."

Williams indicated this alleged scheme enabled the Democratic megadonor to evade "contribution dollar limits, corporate donation limits, and donation reporting requirements."

TheBlaze previously detailed how an indictment, unsealed in February in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, suggested that Bankman-Fried and "co-conspirators made over 300 political contributions, totaling tens of millions of dollars, that were unlawful because they were made in the name of a straw donor or paid for with corporate funds" (i.e., unsuspecting clients' money).

The indictment further accused the Democratic megadonor of seeking to acquire influence by way of these allegedly "unlawful political contributions" as well as to "improve his personal standing in Washington, D.C., increase FTX's profile, and curry favor with candidates that could help pass legislation favorable to FTX or BANKMAN-FRIED's personal agenda."

These efforts appears to have been extra to his ostensibly above-board donations.

Bankman-Fried reportedly donated $10 million to then-candidate Joe Biden in 2020.

The crypto hustler reportedly also hired a network of "political operatives" and spent at least $39,826,856 in an effort to help Democrats win their House races in the November 2022 midterm elections.

Among his beneficiaries were Democratic Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Cory Booker (D-N.J), and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

Bankman-Fried told Jacob Goldstein of "What's Your Problem?" that he planned to possibly donate "north of $100 million" and up to $1 billion to Democrats in the 2024 presidential elections.

Bankman was extradited from the Bahamas back to the United States on December 21, 2022.

Biden DOJ drops charges

Forbes reported that the Biden DOJ will not pursue a campaign finance charge against Bankman-Fried as a means of placating the Bahamas, which has claimed this charge was not part of its initial extradition agreement with America.

In a Wednesday letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, U.S. Attorney Williams indicated that Bankman-Fried had moved to dismiss the conspiracy to make unlawful campaign contributions count on "rule of specialty grounds," but that this had been rejected.

While this motion had been rejected, Williams noted the DOJ subsequently "informed the Court that the United States had sought clarification from The Bahamas regarding whether this count was included in the defendant's extradition."

The Bahamas purportedly came back suggesting it had not intended to extradite the disgraced Democratic megadonor "on the campaign contributions count."

Williams wrote, "In keeping with its treaty obligations to The Bahamas, the Government does not intend to proceed to trial on the campaign contributions count."

Prosecutors removed five other charges against Bankman-Fried last month, punting them to 2024 after a Bahamas court ruling suggested the DOJ may have fouled up the procedure for charging the former billionaire, reported CNBC.

According to the New York Times, Bankman-Fried is now left only facing seven charges at his trial in October, although he will likely face the five punted charges at a subsequent trial.

John P. Fishwick Jr., a former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia, told the Times prosecutors still had "overwhelming evidence against Sam Bankman-Fried" and that he still could face dozens of years behind bars.

Reuters reported that Judge Kaplan tightened Bankman-Fried's bail conditions Wednesday, hitting him with a gag order after he had shared his former lover Caroline Ellison's personal writings with the press, which prosecutors said amounted to more witness tampering.

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Alleged Russian ransomware money launderer extradited from the Netherlands to the US



Alleged cryptocurrency money launderer Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov made his first appearance in the Oregon U.S. District Court yesterday, the Department of Justice announced. This week, the 29-year-old Russian citizen was extradited from the Netherlands to the United States to face charges related to a ransomware laundering scheme.

The ruse included Ryuk ransomware attacks that targeted individuals and organizations in the United States and other countries. The case alleged that Dubnikov and his accomplices were involved in the 2019 money laundering scheme, which collected $70 million in ransom from victims. Prosecutors accused Dubnikov of being directly responsible for gathering $400,000 in revenue.

The Ryuk family of ransomware was first identified in 2018. Cybercriminals used the software to attack thousands of victims worldwide. When implemented on computers and networks, the ransomware program was capable of encrypting files and deleting system backups. It worked by gaining access to storage drives within and externally connected to the computer, as well as drives remotely connected to the computer's network.

After gaining access, Ryuk held the victim's system or files hostage while criminals demanded ransom payments. According to Malwarebytes, typical ransom amounts could be a few hundred thousand dollars. Ryuk cybercriminals used phishing emails to target high-profile organizations.

Authorities announced in 2020 that criminals using Ryuk were attacking many different industries, but U.S. hospitals and health care providers were at greater risk of being targeted. The Justice Department's Ransomware and Digital Extortion Task Force worked on investigating Dubnikov and his alleged co-conspirators.

After collecting the ransom payments from victims, Dubnikov and his accomplices allegedly used the funds for international financial transactions. These transactions were intended to cover up the crime by hiding the source, location, and other identifying information that could reveal Ryuk and its cybercriminals.

Authorities detained Dubnikov in the Netherlands in November 2021, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported. The outlet stated that Dubnikov's U.S.-based lawyer Arkady Bukh said his client denied the charges and that all of his cryptocurrency exchanges complied with the law.

Dubnikov's five-day trial is scheduled to begin in October. If he is found guilty, he could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.