DEA Leads Largest U.S. Strike Against La Familia Cartel

Twenty-Month Series of Investigations Lead to Nearly 2,000 Arrests, Over $60 Million Seized WASHINGTON, D.C. Project Delirium, a 20-month series of investigations nationwide targeting the La Familia Michoacana cartel, has culminated in one of the largest strike against La Familia in the United States: 1,985 arrests, $62 million in U.S. currency, and approximately 2,773 pounds of methamphetamine, 2,722 kilograms of cocaine, 1,005 pounds of heroin, 14,818 pounds of marijuana and $3.8 million in other assets. Over 70 of these arrests took place yesterday and today, and over 200 have been arrested since June 1. Law enforcement officials here in the U.S., in Mexico and all around the world are cooperating at unprecedented levels. There is a willingness -- like never before -- to work hand-in-hand to fight the cartels, the criminal enterprises, and the violent gangs that threaten the peace and security of people on both sides of the border, said John Morton, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Project Delirium is the result of information gathered during the course of a previous effort targeting La Familia, known as Project Coronado, which culminated in 2009. As part of Project Delirium, arrests have been made or charges have been unsealed to date in the following districts: the Northern District of Alabama; the Central, Eastern and Southern Districts of California; the District of Colorado; the District of Columbia; the Northern District of Georgia, the District of Kansas; the Eastern District of Michigan; the District of Minnesota; the Eastern District of Missouri; the District of New Mexico; the Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina; the Western District of Tennessee; and the Northern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas. On June 21, 2011, Mexican law enforcement arrested La Familia leader and Consolidated Priority Organizational Target (CPOT) Jose de Jesus Mendez-Vargas, aka El Chango or The Monkey, based on Mexican charges. Charges include conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana; distribution of methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana; conspiracy to import narcotics into the United States; money laundering; and other violations of federal law. Numerous defendants face forfeiture allegations as well. The investigative efforts in Project Delirium were coordinated by the multi-agency Special Operations Division, comprised of agents and analysts from the DEA, FBI, ICE, Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Marshals Service, as well as attorneys from the Criminal Divisions Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section and Office of International Affairs. More than 300 federal, state, local and foreign law enforcement agencies contributed investigative and prosecutorial resources to Project Delirium through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces. The department thanks the Government of Mexico and its Mexican law enforcement partners for their continued partnership and collaboration in the ongoing efforts to combat Mexican drug cartels.