José de Jesús Amezcua Contreras (born c. 1975, along with his brothers Adán and Luis, was a leader of the

Colima Cartel The Colima Cartel () was a Mexican drug trafficking and methamphetamine producing cartel operating in Guadalajara, Jalisco. It was founded and led by José de Jesús Amezcua Contreras and supported by his brothers Adán and Luis. The Colima ...

, a Mexican

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

and meth-precursor smuggling organization. The Colima cartel has become a branch of the Sinaloa Cartel as are the Guadalajara Cartel, and Sonora Cartels.

Arrest

On June 1, 1998, Luis and Jesús Amezcua were arrested in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

by agents from the Mexican counter-narcotics agency, Fiscalía Especial para Atención a los Delitos contra la Salud (FEADS). 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 9 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 illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

, 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.

Trial and aftermath

In May 2002, a federal court blocked the scheduled

extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...

of José de Jesús Amezcua to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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 and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

or a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are c ...

. On September 5, 2002, ''

Japan Today ''Japan Today'' is a website that publishes wire articles, press releases, and photographs, as well as opinion and contract pieces, such as company profiles, in English. References External links * 2000 establishments in Japan English- ...

'' published an article in which the head of the attorney general's organized crime unit (UEDO), José Luis Santiago Vasconcelos, stated the sisters of the imprisoned Colima Cartel leaders Luis Ignacio, Jesús and Adán Amezcua Contreras had taken over for their brothers.

Kingpin Act sanction

On June 1, 2000, the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States. It is one of 15 current United States federal executive departments, U.S. government departments. ...

sanctioned Amezcua under the

Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act The Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, better known as the Kingpin Act, is landmark Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States intended to address Illegal drug trade, international narcotics traffic ...

(sometimes referred to simply as the "Kingpin Act"), for his involvement in drug trafficking along with eleven other international criminals. The act prohibited U.S. citizens and companies from doing any kind of business activity with him, and virtually froze all his assets in the U.S.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amezcua Contreras, Jesus Living people People from Colima Mexican people convicted of money laundering Mexican people of Basque descent Colima Cartel traffickers Sinaloa Cartel traffickers Mexican prisoners and detainees People sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act Year of birth missing (living people)

Arrest

Trial and aftermath

Kingpin Act sanction

See also

References