“Char” for Borderland Beat
This article was translated and reposted from UNIVISION
Juan Manuel Abuzaid El Bayeh was wanted by the Federal Court of the District of Columbia for the crimes of criminal association and against health” and his surrender to U.S. authorities occurred “in compliance with the Extradition Treaty signed between Mexico and the United States of America”.
BY:
UNIVISION
PUBLISHED 27 APR 2024 – 10:20 AM EDT | UPDATED 27 APR 2024 – 10:23 AM EDT
Image of extradited detainee Juan ‘A’, released by Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office on social network X. Credit: Attorney General’s Office of the Republic of Mexico/X
Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FGR) announced on Friday that it had extradited to the United States a “high-ranking member of a drug trafficking organization,” whom it identified as Juan ‘A’.
Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office (FGR) announced on Friday that it had extradited to the United States a “high-ranking member of a drug trafficking organization,” whom it identified as Juan ‘A’.
Mexican media reported that he is Juan Manuel Abouzaid El Bayeh, alias “El Árabe” or “El Escorpión,” a high-ranking member of the Jalisco Cartel – New Generation (CJNG) and an associate of Los Cuinis, a special group within the cartel led by one of the brothers-in-law of Nemesio Oseguera, alias “El Mencho,” the founder of the CJNG.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Juan ‘A’, of Mexican nationality, was wanted by the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, for the crimes of criminal association and against health” and his surrender to US authorities occurred “in compliance with the Extradition Treaty signed between Mexico and the United States of America”.
Juan ‘A’ was arrested in Zapopan, Jalisco, in 2021, and after the efforts of the FGR, the Mexican government granted his extradition to the US. He was handed over at the Mexico City International Airport to US agents, who would be in charge of his final transfer.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which belongs to the Treasury Department, designated Juan Manuel Abouzaid El Bayeh as a ‘Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker’ in March 2021 for his “high-level role in facilitating drug shipments and money laundering for the Jalisco Cartel – New Generation”.
According to the entity, Abouzaid, also known as ‘El Escorpión’, ‘El Hermano’ or ‘El Nene’, was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and is 52 years old.
The now extradited individual reportedly maintained a close relationship with the cartel’s top leaders, according to OFAC, and was blacklisted for “providing financial or technological support or goods or services in support of the CJNG’s international drug trafficking activities.
In June 2020, Mexican authorities blocked his bank accounts, due to his relationship with the CJNG, and before that, in October 2018, the US Department of Justice had already identified him as linked to the CJNG.
A federal indictment filed against him in the District Court for the District of Columbia charged him with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine with the intent that it be imported into the United States. The indictment alleges that his criminal activity began around 2012.
EL ÁRABE
EL ESCORPIÓN