(NewsNation) — The Trump administration is working to take down one of the most dangerous and powerful transnational criminal organizations in the world, which officials say is responsible for flooding the United States with fentanyl, methamphetamine and other illicit drugs.
But sources within Mexico tell NewsNation that the targeted enforcement effort to take down Sinaloa operations could mean “the beginning of the end” of the cartel organization, as both the U.S. and Mexican governments are working together to dismantle the criminal organization’s operation.
However, the focus is not solely on closing the cartel’s criminal operations in Mexico, but around the world. The ongoing effort comes after the Drug Enforcement Administration recently reported the results of a historic week-long operation in New England last month, when more than 600 cartel operatives around the world were arrested.
In addition to making 617 arrests of suspected Sinaloa operatives, DEA agents were able to seize 480 kilograms of fentanyl powder, 714,707 counterfeit pills, more than 2,200 kilograms of methamphetamine, as well as 7,469 kilograms of cocaine and more than 16 ½ kilograms of heroin, the federal agency announced.
The DEA also seized more than $11.1 million in drug proceeds, 420 guns and nearly $1,700 in other assets.
The operation spanned 23 U.S. domestic field divisions and seven foreign regions, which came as part of a coordinated effort between various federal agencies.
Mexican authorities this year have stepped up cooperation with the U.S. to dismantle cartel operations in Mexico, including allowing U.S. spy planes in Mexico, in a recent successful operation targeting the Sinaloa cartel.
In August, Mexico’s Secretary of Defense said that the Sinaloa cartel is quickly losing its power, territories and influence in Mexico, adding that its downfall began in earnest when one of its leaders, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, was arrested in the United States last year.
Zambada pleaded guilty to federal charges in federal court in late August after previously claiming he was not guilty to criminal charges of racketeering conspiracy and continuing a criminal enterprise.
Tens of thousands of suspected Sinaloa members and associates are believed to be working in more than 40 countries around the world, DEA officials said. Together, they are responsible for the production, manufacturing, distribution and other activities that are linked to drug trafficking operations.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials recently announced that they had seized more than 316,000 kilograms of chemical precursors from a boat that the agency was en route to a company in Mexico that serves as a front to a Sinaloa drug cartel operation.
The Mexican government is also facing mounting pressure from the Trump administration to continue to crack down on fentanyl production in the country. In a recent visit to Mexico, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a direct message to cartels and the Mexican government that the U.S. is willing to use the military to target drug trafficking organizations.
“These are not stockbrokers, these are not real estate agents who, on the side, deal a few drugs,” Rubio said. “These are organized, corporate organizations specializing in trafficking deadly drugs into the United States of America. They pose an immediate threat in the United States, period.”