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El Parece

@elparece.bsky.social

OS drug war research, opinions / theories / speculation / conjecture solely my own

661 Followers  |  328 Following  |  1,488 Posts  |  Joined: 02.10.2023  |  1.917

Latest posts by elparece.bsky.social on Bluesky


It's insane that war with Iran hinges on whether or not the president's son-in-law and golfing buddy can negotiate a deal.

20.02.2026 14:37 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Treasury Targets Cartel-Linked Timeshare Resort Defrauding U.S. Citizens WASHINGTONβ€”Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a timeshare fraud network led by the terrorist Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG). Β Th...

Another salvo of OFAC sanctions for a CJNG call center scam pitching fraudulent timeshares at a resort in Nayarit near the Jalisco border. This is the sixth time that businesses affiliated with the CJNG have been sanctioned for timeshare fraud.
home.treasury.gov/news/press-r...

20.02.2026 10:14 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Inside the bribery plot that led to a DEA supervisor's downfall in the Dominican Republic Federal investigators say a veteran agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration took cash to push fraudulent visa applications through the U.S.

This is an awfully inept criminal conspiracy for someone with an intimate knowledge of the law and it's pretty crazy to end the DEA's presence in the Dominican Republic when countering drug trafficking through the Caribbean is such a high priority for this administration.
apnews.com/article/domi...

19.02.2026 17:20 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump Mulls a North American Trade Pact Without Canada

This seems like a negotiating tactic rather than a serious idea since $5/gal gasoline is a pretty big political liability
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/19/b...

19.02.2026 12:17 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This will be even more absurd if Trump and Netanyahu start a war with Iran this week without authorization from the UN Security Council or even an AUMF from Congress.

19.02.2026 11:11 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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From Commitment to Action: The Next Steps in Holding Russia’s Leaders Accountable for the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine The Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression in Ukraine could close a longstanding gap in international criminal accountability.

Not condoning in any way what Russia has done and should answer for but it's difficult to imagine how any international body is going to hold countries outside of the developing world accountable for crimes of aggression after Trump.
www.justsecurity.org/131731/russi...

19.02.2026 11:11 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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US Southern Command chief meets Venezuela's president weeks after Maduro's capture The top U.S. military commander for Latin America has met with Venezuela’s acting president in Caracas as both sides discuss security and policy goals.

Delcy RodrΓ­guez, Vladimir Padrino LΓ³pez, and Diosdado Cabello are as corrupt as Maduro and probably more directly involved in drug trafficking. Make it make sense.
apnews.com/article/vene...

19.02.2026 10:35 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Fired Former Trump Prosecutor to Run for Congress in Virginia as a Democrat

I saw this last week and realized this was my district and it was the most hopeful I've felt after reading the news in months. Looking forward to electing a former member of the DoJ's public integrity section, someone who knows what's at stake better than anyone.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/u...

18.02.2026 12:02 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Amid Mass ICE Arrests, Trump Pardon Recipient Juan Orlando HernΓ‘ndez Given Special Treatment After the former Honduran president was pardoned, ICE dropped its detainer on him, and he was whisked away to a luxury hotel in New York City.

Pardoning a convicted multi-ton cocaine trafficker is one of the most shameless, incoherent, and corrosive things this administration has done. They should never live this down.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...

18.02.2026 11:17 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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How some Democrats are using scripture to try to reach Christian voters in US midterms Sarah Trone Garriott, an Iowa state senator and Lutheran minister, has never shied away from putting faith at the center of her political campaigns.

The message of the gospels is antithetical to a political movement that delights in cruelty
www.reuters.com/world/us/how...

17.02.2026 18:29 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump Threatens to Block Michigan-Canada Bridge He Once Championed The president’s targeting of the bridge shows just how drastically U.S.-Canada relations have fallen between his two terms.

When a privately owned international bridge monopoly is deemed a matter of "national security" by the guy with a lifetime of thoroughly documented ties to Italian-American, Chinese, Russian, and Israeli organized crime, there's probably more to that story.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...

17.02.2026 17:49 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Epstein Bought Venezuelan Oil Bonds on Advice From ChΓ‘vez-Era Insider Newly released documents show businessman Francisco D’Agostino visited Jeffrey Epstein’s private island, and advised his investments in PDVSA, Venezuela’s state oil company.

Some actually interesting Epstein files-related news: Francisco D’Agostino, a Spanish-Venezuelan businessman sanctioned by OFAC in 2021 until the Trump admistration removed them last year, advised Epstein and his partners on investing in PDVSA bonds in 2012 and 2013.
www.occrp.org/en/scoop/eps...

17.02.2026 13:19 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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This paragraph from an essay by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on one of the perils of AI being wielded to influence any individual or even entire populations understates how advanced this threat already is
www.darioamodei.com/essay/the-ad...

16.02.2026 13:33 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Cartel drones become flashpoint between US and Mexico The chaotic closure of the El Paso airport overnight Tuesday, which U.S. authorities initially blamed on an incursion by a Mexican cartel drone, brought into sharp focus the growing use of unmanned ai...

The greatest threats to U.S. law enforcement from drug trafficking organizations are bribery and corruption, not drone attacks
www.reuters.com/world/us/car...

16.02.2026 10:10 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Imagine the reaction from the Republicans if Merrick Garland had acknowledged a secret FBI or DHS-curated database of people deemed to have illiberal personal views. I'll be surprised if the Democrats even make this an issue.

15.02.2026 14:05 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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How to Safeguard the DOJ Against the Next Trump The Trump administration has taken a wrecking ball to the Department of Justice, dismantling the traditional barrier between prosecutorial independence and partisan politics.

After politicized prosecutions, pardons for loyalists and other political manipulation, restoring the Department of Justice will require structural reforms after Donald Trump leaves office (via Bloomberg Opinion)

15.02.2026 13:30 β€” πŸ‘ 114    πŸ” 46    πŸ’¬ 15    πŸ“Œ 4
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Trump's Caribbean Surge Nears $3 Billion Price Tag So Far The operations around Venezuela that eventually led to the capture of its president pulled in nearly a fifth of the US Navy’s surface fleet at a cost of more than $20 million a day.

This is close to the DEA's annual budget (~$3.3B) with a fraction of the results to show for the effort. The DEA builds about 25-30,000 cases every year against bigger fish at every step in the supply chain, nearly all of which result in pleas or convictions.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

15.02.2026 10:34 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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18 U.S. Code Β§ 39A - Aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft

It rules that the law about lasers and flight paths has an exception specifically for DHS and DoD, and as soon as the adults aren't around anymore to say no they just go buck wild and shut down air travel to El Paso for 10 days
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/...

14.02.2026 12:14 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Inside the Debacle That Led to the Closure of El Paso’s Airspace

The amount of drugs smuggled by drone annually is probably less than the amount of drugs smuggled in vehicles crossing through CBP inspections on a busy day. These are kids playing with a new toy.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/14/u...

14.02.2026 11:55 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Never forget that the Democrats have abided Trump pardoning and removing sanctions on drug traffickers and terrorist financiers at the apex of the food chain without making it into a scandal. Sinaloa cartel conspirators, MS-13 confederates, Al Qaeda and Hezbollah financiers. Utterly insane.

13.02.2026 16:22 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Cartes and VelΓ‘zquez have ties to Hezbollah, US gov't says Former Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes and current Vice President Hugo VelΓ‘zquez have ties to the terrorist group Hezbollah, US Ambassador to AsunciΓ³n Marc Ostfield said Thursday during a press co...

The president of one of the first countries to open an embassy in Jerusalem sanctioned for funding Hezbollah. Hmm...
en.mercopress.com/2023/01/27/c...

13.02.2026 12:49 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Designation of Former Paraguayan President Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara for Involvement in Significant Corruption - United States Department of State The United States is designating former Paraguayan President Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara for his involvement in significant corruption.Β  Former President Cartes obstructed a major international investigation into transnational crime in order to protect himself and his criminal associate from potential prosecution and political damage.Β  These actions undermined the stability of Paraguay’s democratic institutions by contributing […]

You don't even have to dig very deep to find all this shit.
web.archive.org/web/20220722...

13.02.2026 12:49 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

I'm not sure if people realize this but the Biden administration sanctioned the former president of Paraguay who this case ultimately leads back to for involvement in financing Hezbollah and cocaine trafficking in 2022. Naturally, the Trump administration lifted them last year.

13.02.2026 12:49 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

Offensive use of drones to drop improvised explosive and incendiary devices on civilians, rivals, and security forces has been limited to Mexico. Reliable information about the use of drones for surveillance and reconnaissance is limited but they're probably used occasionally.

13.02.2026 10:07 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Do Drug Cartels Actually Use Drones at the Border?

The supposed threat from drones is overstated by DHS and segments of the defense industry selling drone countermeasures. Of all the methods used for smuggling drugs, drones are a fraction of a percentage compared to commercial and passenger vehicle traffic.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/w...

13.02.2026 10:07 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Opinion | End ICE Lawlessness

The rot in DHS is obviously systemic and the safeguards were woefully inadequate if all it took was an election outcome and less than a year to transform an entire executive cabinet department into a lawless, masked, street-fighting, paramilitarized occupation force
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/o...

12.02.2026 14:11 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Crisis en Sinaloa: en fosas clandestinas, vΓ­ctimas de extorsiΓ³n; no por narcotrΓ‘fico Entre 2019 y 2021 buscadores documentaron hallazgos en comunidades del municipio Concordia, Sinaloa, donde fueron hallados los cuerpos de cinco mineros de 10 secuestrados el 24 de enero. Entre las vΓ­c...

The mafia families in Sinaloa that promote an image of themselves as the honorable, gentlemenly outlaws just selling drugs are actually parasites extorting working people like a tamale vendor who gets murdered and buried with the others that failed to pay the tax.
www.proceso.com.mx/nacional/202...

12.02.2026 12:33 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The offensive use of drones and improvised explosive devices by armed criminal groups really took off in MichoacΓ‘n in 2020 where Colombian exmilitary and exguerrilla advisers taught CJNG conscripts TTP developed in Syria and Iraq in the 2010s.

12.02.2026 09:59 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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How Mexican cartels employ drones as tools to smuggle drugs and fight enemies The temporary closure of airspace over El Paso, Texas has caused unease south of the U.S. border and put the spotlight on the use of drones by Mexican cartels.

The use of drones for surveillance of the border is common especially in Tamaulipas where there's more irregular foot traffic. There's no public data about the prevalence of drone smuggling but it's miniscule compared to what crosses in commercial and passenger vehicles.
apnews.com/article/mexi...

12.02.2026 09:59 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Opinion | We Have to Face What ICE Has Done to Us

Opening an essay about immigration enforcement titled "what ICE has done to us" with a description of a USBP agent shooting someone in Chicago is exactly why there should be a distinction between ICE and USBP.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/11/o...

11.02.2026 13:21 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

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