The Colima Cartel ( es, Cártel de Colima) was a Mexican

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...

and

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Methamp ...

producing cartel operating in

Guadalajara, Jalisco Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Mexico, while the Guadalaj ...

. It was founded and led by José de Jesús Amezcua Contreras and supported by his brothers Adán and Luis. The Colima Cartel is believed to have obtained large quantities of the precursor

ephedrine Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment. It is of unclear benefit in ...

through contacts in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, and then distributed it to different methamphetamine labs in Mexico and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The Colima cartel has become a branch of the

Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel ( es, link=no, Cártel de Sinaloa), also known as the CDS, the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Pacific Cartel, the Federation and the Blood Alliance, is a large, international organized crime syndicate that specializes in il ...

as are the Milenio Cartel,

Guadalajara Cartel The Guadalajara Cartel ( es, Cártel de Guadalajara) also known as The Federation ( es, La Federación, link=no) was a Mexican drug cartel which was formed in the late 1970s by Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Rafael Caro Quintero, and Ernesto Fo ...

, and Sonora Cartels.

History

The U.S.

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

(DEA) traces the foundations of the Colima Cartel to 1988. What separated the Colima Cartel from other trafficking operations was their control of the methamphetamine trade, instead of receiving a percentage of goods smuggled for Colombian cartels. The cartel was able to pact with the previous

motorcycle gangs An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, ...

and independent traffickers who once dominated the

trade in the U.S. The cartel was created in 1988 and originally it only operated by trafficking cocaine for the Colombian cartels, but later turned into trafficking and processing of methamphetamine. By 1992 the Colima Cartel, through operations as a business, was able to establish amphetamine contacts in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. The DEA has reported the Colima Cartel recruited relatives to operate at the first two tiers of their organization, "insulating the structure." Relatives and close friends comprised the first two tiers who then recruited low level, non related individuals to operate the methamphetamine elaboration process and the smuggling into the United States.

Arrests

On November 10, 1997, Adán Amezcua was arrested in his hometown of

Colima Colima (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima. Colima i ...

on weapons charges. On June 1, 1998, Luis and Jesús Amezcua were arrested in

, by agents from the Mexican former counter-narcotics agency, the ''Fiscalía Especial para Atención a los Delitos contra la Salud'' (FEADS). He is being held in the maximum security prison of Almoloya, sentenced to 49 years in prison. The Colima Cartel at the time of the arrests of Luis and Jesús was believed to be "the most prominent methamphetamine trafficking organization operating ... as well as the leading supplier of chemicals to other methamphetamine trafficking organizations" Within nine days of their arrest, the ''New York Times'' reported two of the three charges Luis and Jesús Amezcua Contreras were facing were dropped. Judge José Nieves Luna Castro dropped from each, one count of criminal association and

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdicti ...

, saying they had been charged under statutes that were not in effect at the time of their alleged crimes, leaving one remaining charge for each of the brothers. May 2001, Adán Amezcua was arrested on money laundering charges. In May 2002, a federal court blocked the scheduled

extradition Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdi ...

of José de Jesús Amezcua to the United States to face drug trafficking charges because the U.S. extradition request did not comply with Mexico's requirement that extradited criminals not face the possibility of

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

or a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes ...

. In the year 2005, authorities arrested 1,785 collaborators of this cartel. Despite this, the Colima Cartel continues operating in the states of Baja California, Nuevo León, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán and Mexico City.

Leadership

In October 2008, authorities of the U.S. Department of Treasury, on the basis of financial information and arrests of drug traffickers, identified that the Amezcua Contreras Organization has a two leaders who are still at large: Patricia Amezcua Contreras, (sister of Adan, Jesus and Luis) who was responsible for the overall operations, and Telesforo Baltazar Tirado Escamilla, who with his company Collins Group directed traffic of

pseudoephedrine Pseudoephedrine (PSE) is a sympathomimetic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine chemical classes. It may be used as a nasal/sinus decongestant, as a stimulant, or as a wakefulness-promoting agent in higher doses. It was first charact ...

. They had been helped by their sons and lieutenants Rolando, Luis Alfonso Tirado Diaz and Trinidad Ramirez (Compa Trini) By this point in time, however, the Colima Cartel was listed as having only lieutenants and Pseudoephedrine Diversion operatives and not an actual leader.https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/sanctions/Programs/Documents/aco_final_chart_10022008.pdf

References

{{Mexican Drug War Organizations established in 1988 1988 establishments in Mexico Disbanded Mexican drug cartels History of Colima Mexican drug war

History

Arrests

Leadership

See also

References