The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced the sentencing of Raul Flores-Hernandez for his involvement with the Sinaloa Cartel and its drug trafficking operations. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reports that the influence of the Sinaloa Cartel is expanding across the United States.
According to a press release from the DOJ on January 12, Hernandez, a 71-year-old Mexican national, has been sentenced to over 20 years in prison due to his affiliation with the Sinaloa Cartel. The release revealed that Hernandez had held a leadership position within part of the Sinaloa drug operation for four decades.
A DEA report from January 2024 highlighted that there are now affiliated groups of the Sinaloa Cartel in all 50 states.
DEA Administrator Anne Milgram stated in a May 2023 DOJ press release, "The Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels use multi-city distribution networks, violent local street gangs, and individual dealers across the United States to flood American communities with fentanyl and methamphetamine, drive addiction, fuel violence, and kill Americans."
In another May 2023 press release, this time from the DEA Omaha branch, it was disclosed that "Operation Last Mile," which ran from 2022 until 2023, was specifically designed to target the Sinaloa Cartel. The operation involved the Omaha DEA in 1,436 investigations alongside other law enforcement agencies. This led to 3,337 arrests and substantial seizures of illicit substances and firearms. Among these were approximately 44 million fentanyl pills, over 6,500 pounds of fentanyl powder, and more than 91,000 pounds of methamphetamine. The operation extended nationwide but was particularly active in the Midwest region. The states where Omaha DEA was involved included Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Milgram assumed her role as DEA Administrator on June 28, 2021, following a unanimous confirmation by the United States Senate on June 24, 2021. In her position, she supervises nearly 10,000 public servants working in DEA's 334 global offices, as stated in her biography on the DEA website.
