A man identified as the cartel boss who protected ex-Olympian and alleged drug kingpin Ryan Wedding while he was a fugitive in Mexico has been killed in a gunfight with federal authorities there, the country’s top security official says.
asserted
official → identify → authorities
Edgar Aarón Vazquez, known as “the General” and identified as the leader and founder of the New Empire Cartel, was shot dead Thursday evening while Mexican federal officers were executing a warrant for his arrest in Naucalpan, State of Mexico, the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection Omar García Harfuch announced.
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Secretariat → know → Security
Vazquez was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department last year over his links to Wedding’s alleged cocaine empire.
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Vazquez → sanction → empire
At the time, the department said Vazquez provided protection for the then-fugitive and used his police contacts to help locate murder targets for the drug ring.
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Vazquez → say → ring
Wedding is accused of running a billion-dollar criminal enterprise that worked with Mexican cartels and ordered multiple murders around the globe — including the mistaken identity killings of an innocent Indian couple in Caledon, Ont., and the assassination of a U.S. federal witness who helped dismantle part of the network.
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who → accuse → network
Despite the allegations, Vazquez, 42, was not facing U.S. charges in either of the two indictments against Wedding and dozens of his alleged associates.
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Vazquez → face → associates
The New Empire Cartel is described as a violent criminal group largely based in Mexico City.
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Cartel → describe → City
According to Harfuch’s statement, he was being investigated for offences ranging from kidnapping and murder to money laundering and trafficking drugs to the United States and Canada.
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he → accord → States
It wasn’t immediately clear whether the pending charges against Vazquez were directly tied to the sprawling prosecution in the Wedding case.
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charges → pende → case
Mexican federal judge Luis Benítez Alcántara, 49, of Mexico City, was arrested on Sunday in Colombia.
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Alcántara → arrest → Colombia
Mexican federal judge Luis Benítez Alcántara, 49, of Mexico City, was arrested on Sunday in Colombia.
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Alcántara → arrest → Colombia
The raid came the same day that U.S. authorities announced the arrest of a Mexican judge for allegedly accepting a $2-million bribe to release Wedding’s Canadian right-hand man from Mexican custody.
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authorities → come → custody
The judge, Luis Benítez Alcántara, 49, of Mexico City, was arrested Sunday in Colombia.
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judge → arrest → Colombia
Mexican officials described Vazquez as the mastermind behind the high-profile murder of police commissioner Milton Morales Figueroa in July 2024.
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officials → describe → July
He and Harfuch worked closely together at a time when Harfuch was gearing up to take on his current post.
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Harfuch → work → post
“Honouring his memory means continuing the investigations until all those responsible for this crime are brought to justice,” Harfuch wrote on Thursday in his statement announcing Vazquez’s death.
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Harfuch → honour → death
The operation targeting Vazquez involved agents from the security ministry, navy, federal criminal investigations unit and national intelligence agency.
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operation → target → ministry
The Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection said in a news release that the officers were conducting field work when the occupants of a vehicle identified them as law enforcement and started shooting.
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occupants → say → enforcement
Vazquez and a second unidentified man died in the exchange.
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Vazquez → die → exchange
Wedding is accused of leading one of the largest cocaine pipelines into Canada, via the U.S., Mexico and Colombia, while orchestrating murders against enemies or rivals of the organization.
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Wedding → accuse → organization
Before his arrest earlier this year, U.S. authorities say Wedding was hiding out in Mexico as one of the FBI’s top 10 most wanted fugitives.
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Wedding → say → fugitives
Wedding is scheduled for two trials in March and October 2027, although it’s possible the dates change due to the complexity of the case.
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dates → schedule → case
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