Overview
- ODNI announced that NCTC identified and shared actionable intelligence leading to the October 15 arrest of Leonardo Daniel Martinez Vera, known as “El Pato,” in Juárez, Mexico.
- NCTC provided timely location information as Mexican forces raided two houses, and El Pato was apprehended while attempting to flee alongside three alleged money launderers.
- Mexico’s Secretariat of National Defense special forces unit, Group Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales, executed the arrest.
- ODNI framed the operation as part of a shift after President Trump designated cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, with DNI Tulsi Gabbard directing NCTC resources to target them.
- Officials said the takedown followed a nine-month collaboration involving the FBI, Joint Task Force-North, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, Texas DPS Aircraft Operations, and CBP Air and Marine Operations.