2026 in organized crime
Full article adapted from Wikipedia revision 1379536500 by Wikipedia contributors. Text is available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Formatting has been adapted; article text and references are retained. Snapshot imported 2026-10-12.
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In 2026, a number of events took place in organized crime.
Events
- January 3 – As part of the Operation Southern Spear, and the wider war on drugs, the United States orders airstrikes on Caracas, Venezuela, and captures Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and takes him to New York to be tried on drug and weapons charges.[1]
- January 6 – Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores plead not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and narcoterrorism.[2]
- January 12 –
- Swedish police seize three tonnes of cocaine found in a shipping container from South America at the Port of Helsingborg, making it the country's single-largest seizure of the illegal drug.[3]
- Spanish police, in coordination with the UK National Crime Agency and the US DEA, seize 10 tonnes of cocaine hidden among a cargo of salt on a cargo ship off the Canary Islands. It is the country's largest ever seizure of drugs at sea. Thirteen people on board the vessel are arrested.[4]
- January 13 – Mexican police arrest six alleged Tren de Aragua members operating in Mexico City on charges of drug trafficking, extortion, and human trafficking.[5]
- January 29 – Eleven members of a Burmese mafia family are executed in China.[6]
- February 13 – The United States Armed Forces says it has conducted an airstrike on a boat suspected of transporting illegal narcotics in the Caribbean Sea, killing three people.[7]
- February 22 – Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (alias "El Mencho"), leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), is killed during a security operation carried out by the Mexican Armed Forces near Tapalpa, Jalisco. In response, CJNG members launched coordinated retaliatory attacks, including road blockades involving burning vehicles and improvised checkpoints across multiple states.[8]
- February 23 – Hugo César Macías Ureña, described as El Mencho's right-hand man, is fatally shot following him reportedly offering up to MX$20,000 for each soldier killed in retaliation for the death of El Mencho the previous day.[9]
- March 13 – Bolivian authorities arrest suspected Uruguayan drug cartel leader Sebastián Marset during a police operation in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Marset, who is wanted by several countries and has a US$2 million reward linked to money laundering allegations, is detained along with four other individuals.[10]
- March 18 – Ángel Esteban Aguilar Morales aka Lobo Menor, an Ecuadorean national suspected of leading the Los Lobos gang and wanted in Ecuador over the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio in 2023, is arrested in Mexico City and extradited to Colombia, where he is also wanted on charges of involvement with FARC dissidents.[11]
- March 19 – A raid kills eleven members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Sinaloa, with a senior cartel leader being captured along with many weapons.[12]
- April 16 – Five gunmen are killed and a state trooper is wounded during a security operation in Los Herreras, Nuevo León. Authorities implement coordinated surveillance in the area for more suspects.[13]
- May 1 – Rubén Rocha Moya announces he will temporarily step down as governor of Sinaloa, after the U.S. files charges alleging links to the Sinaloa Cartel.[14]
- May 26 – Mexico arrests Isai Martínez Zepeda, identified by authorities as a nephew of imprisoned former Sinaloa Cartel leader El Chapo, in Sonora.[15]
- June 10 – Five state troopers are killed and five more wounded in an ambush by suspected Jalisco New Generation Cartel gunmen near the town of Mojonera, Nahuatzen, Mexico.[16]
- June 12 – U.S. president Donald Trump announces that a joint U.S.–Venezuela operation has killed Tren de Aragua leader Niño Guerrero.[17]
- June 30 – The U.S. treasury department announces sanctions on two men and nine companies accused of being involved in transportation, financial services, and real estate for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.[18]
- July 20 – A federal court in New York sentences Sinaloa Cartel co-founder El Mayo to life imprisonment and orders $15 billion in forfeiture after he pled guilty to charges related to leading the cartel.[19]
- July 23 – The U.S. state department, in coordination with the Mexican finance ministry, sanctions over 50 Mexican individuals and companies allegedly linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.[20]
- August 27 – NORAD and the U.S. Northern Command say that the U.S. military used a laser weapon against three drones belonging to Mexican drug cartels.[21]
- August 30 – Mexican security forces kill Los Reyes cartel leader Luis Enrique Barragán Chávez and his bodyguard during an operation in Tocumbo, Michoacán, after coming under gunfire.[22]
Arts and literature
Deaths
- January 8: Tadamasa Goto, 83, Japanese crime boss.[23]
- February 22: Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, 59, Mexican drug lord, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (since 2010), shot.[24]
- February 23: Hugo César Macías Ureña, Mexican cartel member (Jalisco New Generation Cartel), shot.[25]
- March 2: Benedetto Santapaola, 87, Italian mobster from Catania.[26]
- March 5: Bobby Cummines, 74, English gangster.[27]
- 26 April: Giuseppe Commisso, 79, Italian mobster.[28]
- 21 May: Vincenzo Santapaola, 56, Italian mobster (Sicilian Mafia).[29]
- 26 August: Domenico Papalia, 81, Italian mobster ('Ndrangheta).[30]
- 10 October: Freddie Foreman, 94, English gangster.[31]
See also
References
- ^ "Rubio says US not at war with Venezuela, as Maduro set to appear in New York court on Monday". BBC News. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
- ^ "Maduro and his wife plead not guilty at first court appearance since capture in Venezuela". NBC News. 6 January 2026. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
- ^ "Sweden makes record three-ton seizure of cocaine from South America".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Jones, Sam (12 January 2026). "Spanish police seize 10 tonnes of cocaine hidden in ship off Canary Islands". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
- ^ "Mexico arrests 6 alleged members of Tren de Aragua and 4 of Jalisco New Generation Cartel". AP News. 13 January 2026. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
- ^ "China executes 11 members of Myanmar scam mafia". www.bbc.com. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
- ^ "US military says it struck a vessel in Caribbean, killing three".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Sánchez, Fabiola (22 February 2026). "Mexican army kills leader of powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel during operation to capture him". AP News. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ^ Redacción, Por (23 February 2026). "¿Quién es 'El Tuli', hombre de confianza de 'El Mencho' que ofrecía 20 mil pesos por asesinar a soldados?". El Financiero (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 February 2026.
- ^ "Top narco trafficker Marset handed to US after Bolivia arrest". France 24. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Mexico arrests suspect wanted in the 2023 killing of Ecuadorian candidate and sends him to Colombia". AP News. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
- ^ "At least 11 killed in security operation".
- ^ González, Víctor (15 April 2026). "Abaten a 5 presuntos delincuentes tras enfrentamiento en Los Herreras". Grupo Milenio (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 May 2026.
- ^ "Mexican governor steps aside after US accusations of cartel ties".
- ^ Oduah, Henry (26 May 2026). "Mexico captures US-wanted nephew of 'El Chapo' Guzman". Vanguard News. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ^ Redacción, Por (11 June 2026). "Mueren cinco policías de Michoacán tras una emboscada; Fuerzas Armadas despliegan operativo". El Financiero (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ^ "US kills Venezuela's Tren de Aragua leader in military strike, Trump says". POLITICO. Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ^ "US Treasury sanctions target alleged drug cartel-linked fuel smuggling ring". France 24. 30 June 2026. Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ^ "Mexican drug lord 'El Mayo' sentenced by US court to life in prison". Le Monde (in French). 20 July 2026. ISSN 1950-6244. Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ^ Varela, Micaela (24 July 2026). "US Treasury and Mexican authorities deliver their biggest blow yet to the Jalisco cartel, including El Mencho's stepson". EL PAÍS English. Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ^ "US military uses laser to down 3 Mexican cartel drones near border". Military Times. 28 August 2026. Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ^ "Mexico confirms killing of Los Reyes cartel leader in Michoacan". Anadolu (in Turkish). 1 September 2026. Retrieved 10 September 2026.
- ^ 産経新聞 (12 February 2026). "山口組元幹部、後藤忠政氏が死去 「武闘派」旧後藤組率いる". 産経新聞：産経ニュース (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 15 February 2026. Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- ^ en, Por Nallely SánchezSeguir (22 February 2026). "Abatieron a Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes El Mencho, líder máximo del Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación CJNG". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ^ "Leading Cartel member "El Tuli" killed in Jalisco after "El Mencho" death". Newsweek. 23 February 2026. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
- ^ "Mafia, è morto il boss Nitto Santapaola nel carcere di Milano". laRepubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 2 March 2026.
- ^ O'Toole, Lauran (6 March 2026). "Notorious 70s gangster turned anti-crime campaigner dies aged 74". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "Siderno, è morto il boss Giuseppe Commisso detto "u mastru"". Il Quotidiano del Sud (in Italian). Retrieved 26 April 2026.
- ^ Gugliemino, Francesca (21 May 2026). "Muore al 41 bis Enzo 'u Nicu, figlio del boss Nitto Santapaola". Free Press Online (in Italian). Retrieved 1 June 2026.
- ^ Morto Domenico Papalia, storico boss della 'ndrangheta al Nord: aveva 81 anni (in Italian)
- ^ "Freddie Foreman dead: Kray twins gangster legend dies aged 94 - 'Godfather of Crime'". www.express.co.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2026.