Operation Diablo Express was a cross-border raid launched on 29 January 2016, by a combined force of Mexican and American police to apprehend members 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 ...

Lukeville, Arizona Lukeville is a small unincorporated town on the Mexico–United States border in southern Pima County, Arizona, United States. It was named for World War I aviator Frank Luke, an Arizona native who was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor. Descri ...

, and the neighboring border town

Sonoyta Sonoyta, Sonora is a town in the northern Mexican state of Sonora. It stands on the U.S.-Mexico border, facing Lukeville, Arizona, in the United States. It is the municipal seat of the municipality of Plutarco Elías Calles. Demographics Accor ...

, in northwestern

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is d ...

. According to

Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...

(ICE) spokeswoman Gillian M. Christensen; the Sinaloa cartel "cell" targeted in Sonoyta and the adjacent Lukeville area were responsible for the "importation of millions of pounds of illegal drugs, including marijuana, heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine" into the United States, as well as the smuggling of "millions of dollars in U.S. currency, along with weapons, into Mexico." Christensen also reported that an ICE unit, Homeland Security Investigations, assisted Mexican police in the operation. The

DEA 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 enf ...

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

, Customs and Border Protection and Arizona state and local agencies were also involved in coordinated operations on the Arizona side of the border. Mexico's National Security commissioner, Renato Sales, issued a statement explaining that the operation was conducted via land and air and that when

Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

moved in they came under fire from armed men, who were guarding the area. Two of the gunmen were killed in the ensuing gun battle and twenty-two others were taken into police custody.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diablo Express, Operation Battles of the Mexican drug war 2016 in Mexico 2016 in the United States 2016 in Arizona Conflicts in 2016 Operations against organized crime in Mexico Operations against organized crime in the United States January 2016 events in North America January 2016 events in the United States Sinaloa Cartel

See also

References