Mexican Cartel Turns to ‘Dark Fleet’ to Smuggle Fuel from U.S. and Canada
One of Mexico’s most powerful drug cartels is smuggling gasoline and diesel into the Port of Ensenada with the aid of a “dark fleet” tanker and a Houston-based company, according to an investigation by Reuters.
Louvre Jewel Heist Probed for Money-Laundering Motive
French investigators are treating Sunday’s smash-and-grab at the Louvre as a potential money-laundering operation, after four masked thieves stormed the museum’s Galerie d’Apollon and escaped with eight pieces of royal jewelry.
Sanctioned Shadow Fleet Ships Linked to Assad Corruption and Looted Ukrainian Grain
Three cargo vessels recently sanctioned by the EU for operating in Russia’s “shadow fleet” were quietly sold out of Syria’s state fleet in 2023 for $1 each to an offshore company in the Seychelles, according to new reporting by OCCRP and its Syrian partner SIRAJ.
In Sweeping Reorganization, DOJ to Disband Cartel Task Force, Merge Money-Laundering Section
The U.S. Justice Department will shut down its flagship anti-cartel task force as part of the most far-reaching DOJ shakeup in two decades, according to internal documents reviewed by Reuters.
Report Alleges Trump’s Ambassador Shielded Bukele From Investigation
A previously undisclosed report by the Inspector General for the U.S. State Department and officials interviewed by ProPublica allege that former Ambassador to El Salvador Ronald D. Johnson protected Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele from American and Salvadoran law enforcement efforts.
U.S. Drug Prosecutions Fall to Decades Low as Money-Laundering Cases Plummet: Report
U.S. federal prosecutions for drug crimes have fallen to their lowest level in decades this year after the Trump administration redirected agents to immigration enforcement, according to a Reuters analysis.