20 million fentanyl pills seized in Mexico’s largest drug bust
Mexican authorities seized over a ton of fentanyl in Sinaloa, marking the largest bust of the synthetic opioid in the country’s history. Officials said the haul, equivalent to more than 20 million doses, has an estimated street value of nearly $400 million.
The operation occurred Tuesday, Dec. 3, when military personnel spotted two armed men in Sinaloa, a region known for cartel activity. The suspects fled into two houses, where authorities discovered over 660 pounds of fentanyl in one house and a truck carrying an additional 1,750 pounds. Agents also seized several firearms and arrested two suspects at the scene.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the bust was part of an ongoing investigation. However, analysts suggested the timing may be linked to recent pressure from U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has demanded stronger action on drug trafficking and immigration.
Trump recently threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods unless both nations address the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.
The synthetic opioid is a major contributor to the U.S. overdose crisis, causing approximately 70,000 deaths annually.
Fentanyl seizures in Mexico sharply declined earlier this year, with federal forces confiscating only 286 pounds nationwide between January and June — a 94% drop from 2023.
The record seizure in Sinaloa signals a potential shift in enforcement priorities as U.S.-Mexico relations face heightened scrutiny over the fentanyl crisis.
Meanwhile, U.S. authorities have intensified their own efforts to combat fentanyl trafficking. Earlier this year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 4 million fentanyl pills in Arizona, marking the largest seizure in the agency’s history.
Missing Hawaii woman Hannah Kobayashi now in Mexico: LAPD
The search for Hannah Kobayashi made national headlines thanks to many questions left unanswered with loved ones wondering if she was taken against her will. The budding photographer from Hawaii was on her way to New York City last month to experience the art scene and visit relatives.
However, after missing her connecting flight from Los Angeles, her family says she disappeared. Now, after weeks of investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department provided some answers during a press conference Monday, Dec. 2.
“I wanted to provide you an update on the ongoing search for 30-year-old Hannah Kobayashi, who was reported missing last month. As the family is aware, late yesterday, after traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border, we reviewed video surveillance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which clearly shows Kobayashi crossing the United States border on foot into Mexico,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said. “She was alone with her luggage and appeared unharmed. At this time, Kobayashi’s case has been classified as a voluntary missing person.”
The LAPD said there is no evidence of Kobayashi being a victim of trafficking or any other crime. They said their findings are a result of conducting extensive witness interviews, reviewing video surveillance and collaborating with local and federal law enforcement agencies on the case.
Police said Kobayashi intentionally missed her flight from LAX to New York on Nov. 8. Her family at the time believed it was because she didn’t have enough time to get to the arrival gate.
That night she told her family she’d be sleeping at the LA airport.
On Nov. 9, Kobayashi texted her family she was going to sightsee around the city with stops at The Grove shopping mall and downtown LA. Police said video footage over the next several days showed her at various locations around LA.
Then on Nov. 11, her family said they started receiving “strange” “cryptic” and “alarming” text messages from her phone. The messages referenced Kobayashi being “intercepted” while she got on a Metro train. Her family said she was scared someone might be stealing her identity.
Police said on this day she was seen with an unidentified man who they later questioned. He told authorities he met Kobayashi at LAX and has been “cooperative” with their investigation.
Police also explained what happened to her luggage. They said though Kobayashi checked her luggage to New York, she requested it be returned to LAX. On Nov. 11, she returned to the airport to pick up her bags, but police said she did not have her phone when she left the airport.
Authorities said her social media posts led them to believe she “wanted to disconnect.”
Then on Nov. 12, according to her family’s timeline on the “Help us Find Hannah” Facebook group, Kobayashi was seen on a Greyhound bus by herself.
Police said it was on this day Kobayashi bought a train ticket from LA’s Union Station to San Diego’s San Ysidro point of entry where she walked into Mexico alone with her luggage at 12:13 p.m.
“We’ve basically done everything we can do at this point. She’s left the nation, left the country and in another nation now. So as I mentioned in the earlier comments, that if she comes back into the U.S., law enforcement will be notified of that and, you know, try and do whatever we can if there’s a need to at that time,” McDonnell said.
On Nov. 13, Kobayashi was reported missing, and a search party set out to look for the 30-year-old. This included her father Ryan who flew to LA from Hawaii.
On Nov. 24, police said he was found dead in a parking lot near LAX. The family confirmed he died by suicide. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said the 58-year-old died as a result of injuries from multiple blunt force trauma.
Chief McDonnell said he is sorry for what the family is going through. While he said Hannah Kobayashi has a right to her privacy, he encouraged her to reach out to her family.
“A simple message could reassure those who care about her,” the police chief said.
Trump jokes Canada could be 51st state at dinner with Trudeau: Report
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told President-elect Donald Trump his proposed tariffs would “kill the Canadian economy” when they met for dinner last week. Trump allegedly responded, “If Canada can’t survive the tariffs, then maybe Canada should become the 51st state and Trudeau can become its governor.”
Sources at the dinner confirmed the exchange with Fox News when the two met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. Trudeau became the first G7 leader to meet with Trump since the U.S. presidential election in November.
The leaders discussed several issues, including trade and immigration. Tensions escalated when Trump threatened a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico unless both countries took stronger action to curb migration and drug trafficking into the U.S.
The U.S. is Canada’s largest trading partner, with American imports accounting for about 75% of Canada’s exports. The two countries currently trade under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, a deal signed by Trump in 2020.
Both leaders described the talks as productive. Trudeau posted a picture from the dinner on X, thanking Trump in the caption. He said, “I look forward to the work we can do together, again.”
Before his dinner with Trudeau, Trump also spoke with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum last week. During that conversation, Trump reiterated his threat of high tariffs unless Mexico took more decisive action at its border with the U.S.
Suspected cartel shooting kills 8, injures 2 in north-central Mexico
As deadly gang violence continues to grip parts of Mexico, an investigation is underway after suspected cartel gunmen opened fire on customers and bystanders on Saturday, Nov. 30, at a busy shopping area. Police say the shooting killed eight people and wounded two others in the north-central Mexican state of Guanajuato.
Law enforcement says two firefighters and one paramedic were among those who died in the shooting. Authorities are still looking into a motive.
Guanajuato, a cartel stronghold, has been hit by mass shootings in recent years, including bars, clubs and businesses. The state reportedly has the highest number of homicides of any Mexican state as a pair of cartels fight a “turf war.”
In October, authorities in Guanajuato found the bodies of a dozen police officers reportedly bearing the signs of torture. Cartels later claimed responsibility for the killings.
Cartel violence has continued without much resistance since Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum took office on Oct. 1. She’s been criticized for continuing her predecessor’s “Hugs, Not Bullets” strategy. However, she’s signaled a willingness to shift toward more military use against cartels recently.
Sheinbaum has stopped short of declaring war on the cartels, but proposed a policy she says is based on intelligence gathering to disable cartel operations.
Caught on cam: Texas state troopers rescue 5-year-old from smugglers
Texas state troopers rescued a 5-year-old girl from smugglers who carried her across the Rio Grande. According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the operation was organized by the girl’s mother, who said she found the smugglers online and agreed to pay them $8,000 to get her daughter into the United States.
The rescue began when officers pulled over a large pickup truck with the mother and smuggler in front and child in the back. Officers knew the child was inside after witnessing her being carried on a border surveillance camera.
MUST WATCH VIDEO: TX TROOPER RESCUES FIVE-YEAR-OLD CHILD SMUGGLED ACROSS THE BORDER
11/29: A @TxDPS Trooper stopped a Ram 1500 in Del Rio, Val Verde County, after receiving information from a border surveillance camera (see image) capturing a male adult carrying a child across… https://t.co/b5EIMBxvC3pic.twitter.com/Vf9jc7gLxM
The troopers asked the mother who was driving. She told them it was a friend she met through social media.
Officers then spoke with the child who confirmed she was carried across the Rio Grande that morning by a man.
According to Texas DPS, Roman Ibarra confessed that he was going to be paid $1,000 to smuggle the girl. They arrested and charged him with smuggling of persons younger than 18 years of age. Ibarra is a permanent resident.
The mother, Dolores Lopez, is a temporary resident from Mexico living in North Carolina. The troopers referred her and the child to the Border Patrol.
DPS is conducting a follow-up investigation. Authorities may pursue charges against the mother after a review by the district attorney’s office.
Mexican drug cartels recruit college students to make fentanyl: Report
Mexican drug cartels have a new target for their production of fentanyl and other illicit drugs: chemistry students. Colleges and universities have become the latest recruiting ground for Mexican cartels looking to build their own fentanyl empires.
The New York Times reported how the Sinaloa cartel worked to recruit so-called “cooks” to make fentanyl for them. The Sinaloa cartel is one of Mexico’s largest. U.S. authorities said it’s one of the handful of cartels responsible for nearly all fentanyl crossing the southern border.
But if Mexican cartels succeed at making fentanyl locally, it may make it harder to stop them from selling and exporting the drug to the U.S.
Currently, cartels ship supplies in from China. That has allowed for the U.S. and China to agree on restricting sales of key supplies to Mexico in order to weaken cartels.
U.S. officials told the Times they worried about fentanyl production happening entirely in Mexico. They said it could limit both countries in their efforts to track the drug.
President-elect Donald Trump wants to take an aggressive approach in the fight to limit fentanyl production. Hehas threatened to deploy U.S. troops to fight cartels and implement a 25% tariff on all goods imported from Mexico.
The country’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, asked for international help to prevent the shipment of chemicals used to make fentanyl.
Students, meanwhile, face a persuasive offer to join cartels in their efforts. One student the Times interviewed said they offered $800 upfront and $800 per month, twice as much as the average salary for a chemist in Mexico.
That’s the lowest number since July 2020, during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term and the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
For people in Mexico, migration to the U.S. is a fact of life. Over the last few decades, millions of Mexicans and non-Mexicans have trekked north to the U.S.-Mexico border.
As people travel through Mexico, polls show Mexicans are increasingly upset about the rush of people from outside the country.
A poll by the United Nations’ refugee agency in Mexico found 45% of Mexicans favor some level of limits on migrants, while 32% say the government should only allow them to move quickly through the country. Moreover, 13% say Mexico should close its border entirely and deport those who come in.
A new USA Today piece highlights the growing anti-immigrant view in Mexico. Emilio Gonzalez Gonzalez, a migrant policy staffer at the U.N. agency that conducted the poll, told the paper that “among the general public, the idea of diversity hasn’t been normalized,” and that “there are stereotypes and stigmas.”
Another poll from last year by the nonprofit Oxfam found 7 out of 10 Mexicans said they believed migration into Mexico was excessive.
President-elect Donald Trump has asked Mexico to tighten its immigration enforcement as part of his effort to crack down on migration.
Mexico votes to end watchdog agencies, critics question gov’t transparency
The Mexican Senate passed a proposal to get rid of several independent watchdog organizations. While supporters said it will help reduce corruption and waste, critics said the country’s president is trying to eliminate a checks and balances system.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the bill will help reduce financial waste with savings from the agencies expected to go towards a new government pension fund. It would also be used for educational programs and for higher soldier salaries.
The new legislation is part of a plan pushed by the former Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador and is now supported by Sheinbaum, who said the INAI going away does not mean transparency in government will disappear.
The plan also includes constitutional changes, like a measure that would dismantle Mexico’s judiciary and allow citizens to choose nearly all judges, even in the Mexican Supreme Court.
This raises concerns that Morena, Mexico’s dominant party, will take over the courts. If the watchdog agency bill is approved by a majority of Mexico’s 32 state legislatures, most of which are controlled by Morena, then it will become law.
How Trump could use county sheriffs for mass deportations: Report
President-elect Donald Trump may grant state and local law enforcement agencies, like sheriff’s departments, the power to carry out very specific immigration enforcement functions. The authority comes from Section 287(g), which was added to the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1996.
The program allows the officers to remove incarcerated criminal noncitizens before they are released back into the community. Everything is done under the direction and oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The jail enforcement model targets those with criminal or pending criminal charges who have already been arrested by state or local law enforcement agencies.
The Warrant Service Officer Program allows ICE to train, certify and authorize local law enforcement officers to execute administrative warrants on noncitizens already in their agency’s jail.
As of May 2024, ICE had jail enforcement model agreements with 60 law enforcement agencies in 16 states. The depart ment had warrant service officer agreements with 75 agencies in 11 states.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Trump is also considering a plan to redirect billions of dollars from NGO’s and cities that support newly arrived migrants to law enforcement agencies that turn migrants over to ICE.
The Journal report stated the Trump transition team is aware it will need to significantly increase resources if they are to carry out a mass deportation operation.
Incoming border czar Thomas Homan said he guarantees federal funds will be cut from states and cities that don’t cooperate with deportations. The Trump administration plans to reward those that cooperate.
Homan said they’ll prioritize deporting people who are a threat to public safety and national security. He said that will include fugitives, those on the terrorist watchlist and individuals who’ve been convicted of a crime.
Mexico’s president refutes Trump’s claim she promised to close the border
President-elect Donald Trump said Mexico has agreed to stem the tide of migrants flowing into the United States, but Mexico’s president is now saying that’s not quite accurate. And Amazon workers are using Black Friday to make a statement about their labor situation. These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Friday, Nov. 29, 2024.
Mexico’s president refutes Trump’s claim she promised to close the border
As President-elect Donald Trump gets ready to return to office, he’s already making moves to follow through on some of his biggest campaign promises. After announcing this week his plans to impose tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico, he turned his attention to another hot-button issue: immigration.
It’s a bit of a case of “he said, she said” after Trump had a call with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday, Nov. 27. President-elect Trump posted on his Truth Social platform after the call saying Sheinbaum agreed to stop migration into the U.S. through Mexico, “effectively closing our southern border.”
Sheinbaum appeared to contradict Trump in a post of her own on X, saying in part, “Mexico’s position is not to close borders…”
She did, however, lay out Mexico’s “comprehensive strategy” for addressing the migration issue. In a separate post on X, Sheinbaum said during the call, she told President-elect Trump, “No caravans are arriving at the border because they are being attended to in Mexico.”
En nuestra conversación con el presidente Trump, le expuse la estrategia integral que ha seguido México para atender el fenómeno migratorio, respetando los derechos humanos. Gracias a ello se atiende a las personas migrantes y a las caravanas previo a que lleguen a la frontera.…
The two leaders also talked about how they’re addressing the U.S. fentanyl crisis.
The call was scheduled after Trump unveiled plans to slap 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico to the U.S. as part of the effort to stem the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. through Mexico.
Not only would that impact the prices of avocados and agave — both very popular in the U.S. — Mexico’s economy secretary said Wednesday 88% of all North American pickup trucks come from Mexico. Sheinbaum then suggested Mexico could retaliate with tariffs of its own.
“I hope he rethinks it,” Biden said. “I think it’s a counterproductive thing to do. You know, one of the things you’ve heard me say before is that we are – we have an unusual situation in America. We’re surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and two allies: Mexico and Canada. The last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships.”
Economists forecast Trump’s planned tariffs would increase prices for American shoppers, costing the average U.S. household about $2,600 per year, according to an estimate from the Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Israel and Hezbollah both claim ceasefire violations
Barely three days into a 60-day ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon, both sides are claiming violations.
Yesterday, Hezbollah had a precision-guided missile manufacturing site—today, they don’t.
Hezbollah’s largest precision-guided missiles manufacturing site, 1.4km wide and 70m underground, was struck and dismantled by IAF fighter jets yesterday.
Lebanese authorities also said two people, who were trying to return to southern Lebanon, were shot and wounded by Israeli forces. Lebanon’s health ministry said they were civilians, but the IDF claimed they were suspected of violating terms of the truce.
The agreement, brokered by the United States and France, includes an initial two-month ceasefire during which Hezbollah militants will withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border.
Thousands of Amazon workers to strike from Black Friday to Cyber Monday
Amazon workers in more than 20 countries, including the U.S., are on strike on some of the busiest pre-Christmas shopping days across the world. It started on Black Friday, Nov. 29, a day for bargain hunters to score some of the biggest discounts from stores across the country as holiday shopping kicks into high gear.
Organizers told the United Nations the so-called “days of resistance” are to hold Amazon accountable for alleged labor abuses, as well as “environmental degradation and threats to democracy.” According to ABC News, the strike could delay holiday deliveries.
The organizers said this is their fifth year of labor action against Amazon during the beginning of the holiday shopping season.
In a statement, Amazon said the group that organized the strikes is being “intentionally misleading” and promoting a “false narrative.” Management said the company offers great pay and benefits.
Canada sues Google over control of online ads
Canada’s antitrust watchdog said it is suing Google over alleged anti-competitive conduct in the company’s online advertising business. They’re calling for Google to sell off two of its ad tech services and pay a penalty.
The Competition Bureau said it’s necessary because an investigation into Google found the company “unlawfully” tied together its ad tech tools to maintain its dominant market position. Google insists the online advertising market is a highly competitive sector and is fighting the allegations.
This comes just a week after the U.S. Department of Justice asked a federal judge to force Google to sell its Chrome web browser, saying it continues to crush the competition through its dominant search engine.
America facing a live Christmas tree shortage again
As millions of Americans get ready to begin their search for the perfect Christmas tree, growers are having historic challenges getting them to sale lots, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The day after Thanksgiving is usually the biggest day for live tree sales, but since Thanksgiving came so late this year, it’s a very short selling season. On top of that, a nationwide shortage is expected thanks to severe weather across the country this year, such as a northeastern drought and North Carolina floods caused by Hurricane Helene. North Carolina is the second-biggest supplier of Christmas trees in the country.
Shoppers bought roughly 21.6 million real Christmas trees in the U.S. last year, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. The Department of Agriculture said the number of trees harvested in the U.S. has declined 30% since 2002, while the American population has grown 16% over the same period.
Alaska native air drops Thanksgiving turkeys to families in remote areas
In the most remote parts of Alaska a Thanksgiving turkey is hard to come by. So, one woman made sure families in roadless parts of the state had their holiday feast.
Pilot Esther Keim calls it “Alaska Turkey Bomb.” She flies in a small plane to off-the-grid homes and air drops frozen turkeys for families to enjoy for Thanksgiving.
Keim said it’s a tribute to a family friend who did the same thing for her family when she was growing up.
She started the tradition in 2022 after somebody that she knew told her they did not have much of a holiday dinner — and no turkey at all. Since then, she has delivered 30 to 40 turkeys every year to families living in remote areas of Alaska.