A high-ranking member of one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent drug cartels – known as “The Scorpion” – has been extradited to the United States after spending nearly a decade in leak.
Juan Manuel Abouzaid El Bayeh, 52, was turned over to the US Marshals Service on Monday after being arrested in Mexico in 2021. He faces charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine.
El Bayeh, known as “El Escorpion” or “The Scorpion”, was a key associate of the prolific Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (CJNG).
CJNG came to power in Jalisco, Mexico, in 2009, after profiting from the fall of the Valencia/Milenio cartel.
Its ruthless leader, Ruben Oseguera-Cervantes – nicknamed “el Mencho” – is one of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) most wanted fugitives, with a $10 million bounty on his head.
Oseguera-Cervantes led CJNG through bloody battles to gain control of strategic drug distribution areas, ultimately transforming the criminal organization into one of the five most dangerous transnational cartels designated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) .
“The cartel has established itself all over the world, not only is it dumping all the drugs into America, but it’s sending them to 30, 40, 50 countries… because the drug market is exploding.” , said Derek Maltz, former director of the DEA. chief of special operations, told the Post.
El Bayeh was part of a special group within the CJNG led by Oseguera-Cervantes, according to Univision.
“This guy is just another high-ranking confidant of El Mencho, who is obviously an important player,” Maltz said.
El Bayeh was indicted in May 2017 on drug trafficking charges by the U.S. District Court in Washington, which said he had engaged in criminal activity since 2012.
Mexican authorities then blocked El Bayeh’s bank accounts in June 2020 because of his role in the cartel, according to the Treasury Department.
In March 2021, the Treasury Department designated El Bayeh as a drug trafficker “for providing material support to” CJNG.
However, while Maltz said he was happy about the extradition, it likely won’t impact the supply chain of deadly drugs across the U.S. border.
“This goes way beyond criminal prosecution of cartel leaders, we go way beyond that,” Maltz said, explaining that it takes a powerful effort to cut off the cartels’ supply chain.
Another issue is the timing of the arrest — which may be politically motivated, Victor Avila, a retired Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent who was shot in the line of duty, told the Post by a member of the Los Zetas cartel.
“While these high-level cartel arrests are always welcome, we must question the timing of this arrest. Don’t forget that Mexico has presidential elections in June and it’s always nice to look like you’re fighting these cartels. This benefits both elections,” Avila said.
El Bayeh is scheduled to make his first court appearance on May 17 in Washington, D.C., according to Border Report.
New York Post
