Overview

• The Department of Justice filed indictments on August 14 against Juan José Farías Álvarez, Alfonso Fernández Magallón, Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez, Edgar Orozco Cabadas and Nicolás Sierra Santana for methamphetamine and fentanyl trafficking.
• The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control froze U.S. assets of Cárteles Unidos leaders and affiliates to choke off revenue from illicit activities.
• The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs announced reward offers totaling up to $26 million for information leading to the capture or conviction of five cartel fugitives.
• FlightRadar data and Mexican security secretary Omar García Harfuch confirmed that a U.S. MQ-9B SkyGuardian drone conducted intelligence flights over Michoacán, Guerrero and the State of Mexico at Mexico’s request.
• Mexican officials emphasized bilateral cooperation and denied any U.S. military intervention while opposition lawmakers called for clear legal agreements governing extraditions and drone overflights.