Pam Bondi (00:00):
Today, a historic Sinaloa Cartel arrest, and it marks the most significant victory in our nation's fight against fentanyl and drug trafficking to date. This multi-agency operation, led by DEA, with our local, state, tribal, and federal partners targeted one of the largest and most dangerous drug trafficking and foreign terrorist organizations in our country. The DEA seized 11.5 kilos of fentanyl, including an astounding approximately three million fentanyl pills, the largest seizure in our nation's history. These are the pills in the bags right there.
(00:55)
The main, bottom right, the head of this organization, Sinaloa organization here in the country illegally, six of these guys and women here in the country illegally. His name is Alberto Salazar Amaya, he is the leader and he was living in Salem, Oregon. With him, they got millions of dollars, cash, cars, but the drugs were in Albuquerque, Phoenix, and Utah. That's how insulated these drug dealer cartel leaders make themselves.
(01:35)
This was an incredible operation and that's why I wanted all of you here behind me. It took months and months of work, investigation leading up to smaller buys, smaller cases, to get this massive amount of drugs and guns off our streets. $5 million approximately in cash. 35 kilos of methamphetamine, 35 kilos of meth, 7.5 kilos of cocaine, 4.5 kilos of heroin, 49 rifles and pistols, all shown in the pictures. And then of course, the three million pills. These pills were stamped as oxycodone. Let that sink in. Three million pills going on our streets, three million pills. The streets of our country laced with fentanyl, labeled as oxycodone, and they were in all different strengths of fentanyl within them.
(02:44)
This operation was made possible by over 55,000 hours of law enforcement investigation. And this is a really dangerous job that these DEA agents face every day, but they are getting very dangerous drugs off of our streets each day. They are flooding our cities with a weapon of mass destruction, fentanyl. And when we catch you, like all of these individuals, if convicted, we will put you behind bars, there will be no negotiating, and we will lock you up for as long as humanly possible. We will not negotiate with those who are killing our family members, including brothers, sisters, daughters, sons, parents, friends. Everyone in this room, I guarantee you, knows someone who has been afflicted with drug addiction and many who have known someone who has lost a loved one because of this trash on our streets. The precursors are made in China, it was sent to Mexico, and came right in our country. And again, six of these individuals were here illegally, that won't shock you, and were running a massive, massive drug operation.
(04:12)
This kind of success doesn't happen without extraordinary leadership. And I want to personally thank my friend, DEA, Principal Deputy Administrator Rob Murphy. DEA El Paso Division Chief Agent in Charge Omar Arellano. I'm killing your name, Omar.
Omar Arellano (04:31):
[inaudible 00:04:32].
Pam Bondi (04:32):
Omar, okay. And US Attorney, where's Ryan? Ryan Ellison. I also want to thank again the brave men and women of law enforcement.
(04:41)
Last week I joined them at a DEA laboratory, and we went there and it was truly remarkable what we saw, how quickly these cartels can manufacture and make fentanyl powder and put it into these pills. But people need to know, parents need to know, kids need to know, this fentanyl, this bus, these three million pills were oxycodone. They put this in Xanax, they put this in Adderall, they put this in Molly, the date drug or the party drug, something called Molly. They put it in cocaine, and they put it in marijuana. And it is to get you so highly addicted that you can't get off it. 75,000 Americans are dying each year because of fentanyl. 75,000. And that's why this is so important today. You've got to spread the word. If you know anyone who is taking any recreational drugs, they need to be extremely careful because there is a very high likelihood it could be laced with fentanyl. And that's one of the reasons 75,000 Americans are losing their lives each day. It is the number one cause of death for individuals between 18 and 34 in our country.
(06:07)
More seizures are coming, more arrests are coming, I guarantee you that. And these dealers, these sellers, these street-level sellers better look out, because we will not be negotiating with you. We will bring you to justice, and we will not stop until this poison is off of our streets in our country. It is my honor to introduce my friend with DEA, Rob Murphy. Thank you again.
Rob Murphy (06:37):
Thank you. Thank you, Attorney General Bondi. Good afternoon. First off, I'd like to take a second and thank the men and women of DEA, along with our partners at the US Marshals, IRS, obviously the US Attorney's Office, who made this six-month investigation happen. Without their tenacity, there was many obstacles that they faced throughout this investigation.
(07:00)
And let me reiterate what the Attorney General Bondi said so well. This was a major drug trafficking organization led by Alberto Salazar Amaya, operating in the United States with no regard at all for the disruption to families, addiction, and ultimately death that was probably caused for the distribution. That nearly $5 million in cash represents poison that was distributed throughout at least six states that we were able to identify in this country. And who knows where it went when it was sold to that first level.
(07:35)
Obviously, a major organization. This team was able to infiltrate the organization at every level. We knew how the drugs were being brought into the US. We've identified the main players in Mexico who belong to the Sinaloa Cartel, who was recently designated by this administration as a foreign terrorist organization. We are exploiting them at every level, we continue to do that, we expect more out of this investigation. Could not be more proud of the men and women that put their lives on the line every day doing this job, working through the obstacles, to make sure that the communities they live in, the communities we all live in, continue to be as safe as they can be.
(08:14)
So, thank you Attorney General Bondi for giving this the attention it needs, and look forward to seeing what'll happen in the future. And so with that, I'd like to introduce US Attorney Ryan Ellison.
Ryan Ellison (08:28):
Well, good afternoon, everyone. My name is Ryan Ellison, and I'm the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico. I'm going to give you a brief overview of the investigation that dismantled one of the largest and most dangerous fentanyl operations in the United States history. This case involved coordinated efforts from federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies across multiple states. As a result of this ongoing investigation, 16 individuals have been arrested, including the alleged leader, Alberto Salazar Amaya, an illegal alien from Mexico with two prior removals and direct ties to the Mexican Cartel.
(09:09)
In Albuquerque alone, authorities seized staggering quantities of illegal drugs and assets, including over 2.7 million fentanyl pills, 11.5 kilograms of concentrated fentanyl powder, seven pounds of methamphetamine, multiple kilograms of heroin and cocaine, 41 firearms, to include ghost guns and weapons modified for automatic fire, more than $600,000 in cash, and numerous luxury vehicles. This sophisticated fentanyl and narcotics distribution network spanned New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah, and was responsible for distributing lethal narcotics throughout the Western United States. The sheer scale and potency of this fentanyl is sobering, with enough lethal doses to kill countless Americans. All defendants faced serious federal charges related to conspiracy and distribution of fentanyl, along with additional charges for firearms offenses and immigration violations in certain cases.
(10:16)
I would like to thank the DEA's El Paso Division, primarily the Albuquerque field office, as well as many other DEA field offices across the Western United States, our local and federal partners and the assistant US attorneys that are prosecuting this case. Together, we have sent a clear message, we will not tolerate those who profit from poisoning American citizens. The fight continues, but today our communities are safer with these drugs and criminals off the streets. Thank you.
Pam Bondi (10:54):
I just want to add one thing, that I was briefed before this by all of the agencies together, and they share the coordination with the AUSAs and DEA and the law enforcement agencies is truly remarkable. Thank you all, and again, be safe out there every day. They're out there risking their lives every day to save us and keep us safe. So, thank you all.
(11:20)
I think we're going to take a couple questions, but we are going to remain on topic today, because we are here for something so serious. And I had wanted to walk out first and let you all hold this. This is how much fentanyl it takes to kill you. So if you want to come up and look at this after in this vial, you're welcome to. It looks like just a few grains of salt and this is what it takes to kill you.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
Just a reminder, we're staying on topic today.
Pam Bondi (11:49):
Go ahead.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
[inaudible 00:11:51].
Speaker 5 (11:51):
Attorney General, I was wondering if you're seeking to deport the six illegal aliens who are here or to charge them first and then seek to deport them? I know there's been a number of high-profile arrests you guys have made where you've made the decision to just go after deportation versus criminal trial.
Pam Bondi (12:09):
This guy is the leader. He's the number one guy, and I want them to stay in our prisons as long as possible. I have no desire to send them back to Mexico, because they were coming across our border illegally. No longer will they be able to do that. But the amount of drugs, the amount of money, the amount of weapons, most of these individuals if convicted, will remain in American prisons, perhaps Alcatraz.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Mary Margaret, Daily Wire.
Mary Margaret (12:38):
Thank you. Attorney General Bondi, can you give us more information on some of these individuals up there? And can you also share whether that you've had any success in getting the Mexican government to help you extradite any of these cartel members?
Pam Bondi (12:53):
We will be hopefully working with them on one soon, but yes, Mexico has been cooperating in the past. I think we extradited 29 here to our country to face charges, some of the top cartel members in our nation's history. Some of the worst of the worst, and we brought them here. One in fact is at the Kiki Camarena, right? One, I can't think of his name. He killed-
Speaker 4 (13:21):
Rafael Caro.
Pam Bondi (13:22):
Rafael, yeah. He killed Kiki Camarena, a DEA agent in the '80s. And Kiki Camarena's widow and son, family, had been trying to get this guy back since the '80s and could not do it. And President Trump, working hand-in-hand with Mexico, was able to get him back to this country. And we spoke to Kiki Camarena's widow and son, and they were both in tears. His son is now a judge and his son had his father's handcuffs and had them engraved. And I think at some point that monster who tortured and murdered his father will be wearing those handcuffs. But he's now in American custody along with, I think 28 others that we were able to extradite with President Trump working with Mexico to stop this really, reign of terror and this poison coming into our country.
Speaker 4 (14:17):
All right, we have time for one more. Jake?
Jake (14:21):
You said that these individuals will not be deported. Can you tell us any specifics on charges and any specifics on the investigation on how this actually went down and how they were captured?
Pam Bondi (14:33):
So the investigation is ongoing. I can tell you it was a lot of work, a lot of great police work is all I'll say now, but I don't want to really reveal their sources and methods of how they captured and caught these guys. But what I will tell you, the top guy who I keep pointing to, he insulated himself. He was in Oregon, he had no drugs on him, but he was the leader. He had millions of dollars, he had a Mercedes, he had a truck, he had other things, but he did not have any drugs on him because he was the leader. And that's what these cartels do, whether it's Sinaloa, whether it's MS-13, whether it's TDA. The highest leaders insulate themselves. Just like the TDA guy, you may have been with us in Virginia when we arrested him not even half an hour away from here, he didn't have any drugs on him either. That's what they do. They live among us, they live in neighborhoods because they are the top level.
Jake (15:35):
So what will the charges be?
Pam Bondi (15:36):
Oh, I'm sorry. Multiple… What are the charges guys? The multiple drug trafficking, conspiracy to traffic, multiple drug charges. But depending on the time, they need to serve their time in an American prison to keep them off the streets. And who knows where they would go next. They're a part of one of the largest drug trafficking organizations and one of the most frightening cartels.
Speaker 4 (15:57):
[inaudible 00:15:58], last one.
Pam Bondi (15:58):
Go ahead.
Speaker 8 (15:59):
How are you making the decision about whether to put on trial in the US, defendants who are living in the US illegally? You said you want this man to stand trial in the US, but in another case and someone who was alleged to be a top MS-13 member, the department moved to dismiss that case and is going to deport that person. How are you making that decision about whether to bring-
Speaker 4 (16:17):
[inaudible 00:16:18].
Pam Bondi (16:18):
Based on the time that they can receive in prison. If these people are all facing substantial charges, that might change down the road, and they all are innocent until proven guilty. If convicted though, they're facing a substantial amount of time in prison and there's a very big risk, we all know, releasing someone, especially to Mexico. Sending them back to Mexico, who knows, they could attempt to get through our borders. Not under Donald Trump, I doubt, but they're also part of a major drug trafficking ring in Mexico. So sending them back to Mexico to continue on with their drug business isn't going to happen under this administration.
Speaker 4 (16:57):
Thank you guys so much.
Pam Bondi (16:57):
Thank you all. And if you want to see this, Alana, you may have seen this before, but if you all want to see this, it really puts it in perspective how deadly this stuff is and that's what I wanted you all to see. Thank you all.
Speaker 4 (17:06):
[inaudible 00:17:10], we'll do a group photo.
Pam Bondi (17:06):
Oh, great.
