US, Panama and Colombia aim to stop Darien Gap migration

[Judi Lynn]

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

PUBLISHED: 19:26 EDT, 11 April 2023 | UPDATED: 19:26 EDT, 11 April 2023

PANAMA CITY (AP) - The United States, Panama and Colombia announced Tuesday that they will launch a 60-day campaign aimed at halting illegal migration through the treacherous Darien Gap, where the flow of migrants has multiplied this year.

Details on how the governments will try to curb the flow of migrants that reached nearly 90,000 in just the first three months of this year through the dense, lawless jungle were not provided in the joint statement.

The ambitious announcement came as the Biden administration nervously awaits the expected end of a pandemic-related rule May 11 that has suspended rights to seek asylum for many. Without that instrument of dissuasion at the U.S. border, there is concern migrant arrivals could again become unmanageable.

The joint statement said the countries will also use "new lawful and flexible pathways for tens of thousands of migrants and refugees as an alternative to irregular migration," but again gave no details.

More:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-11962693/US-Panama-Colombia-aim-stop-Darien-Gap-migration.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Matriarch Sentenced for Role in Violent Multimillion-Dollar Honduran Cocaine Trafficking Organizatio

Matriarch Sentenced for Role in Violent Multimillion-Dollar Honduran Cocaine Trafficking Organization

March 28, 2023
Contact: Public Information Office
Phone Number: [phone]
For Immediate Release

A Honduran woman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for a large-scale conspiracy to traffic cocaine for importation into the United States



WASHINGTON, DC- According to court documents, from 2006 until 2015, Erlinda Ramos-Bobadilla, aka Chinda, 62, served as a leader in the Montes-Bobadilla drug-trafficking organization, or Los Montes, one of the most significant drug-trafficking organizations operating in Honduras. The Los Montes drug-trafficking organization was based in the town of Francia on the northeastern coast of Honduras. There, the organization received clandestine maritime and air shipments of cocaine from sources in South America. Individual shipments of cocaine usually carried hundreds of – and sometimes more than a thousand – kilograms of cocaine. After receiving a shipment of cocaine, Los Montes worked with other drug traffickers to transport the cocaine inland through Honduras into Guatemala and, eventually, Mexico, where the cocaine would then be imported into, and distributed within, the United States.

. . .

“The defendant and her family lead a dangerous drug cartel that brought thousands of kilograms of poisonous drugs into the United States from Honduras and left murder, corruption, violence, and terror in its wake. EDVA prioritizes the investigation, dismantling, and prosecution of organizations like The Los Montes cartel that destroy communities across nations,” said U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Today’s sentence would not have been possible without the coordinated efforts of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners who work tirelessly to stop illicit drugs and violence from infiltrating our neighborhoods.”

Ramos-Bobadilla also participated in procuring, planning, and arranging acts of violence, including murders, in furtherance of the conspiracy. For example, Los Montes and other Honduran drug-trafficking organizations conspired to finance the murder of the head of Honduras’ anti-drug trafficking agency in December 2009. In June 2013, along with her son, Noe Montes-Bobadilla, and another co-conspirator, Ramos-Bobadilla also participated in coordinating and directing the murder of a permanent resident of the United States in Tocoa, Honduras, in retaliation for perceived cooperation with the U.S. government.

In addition to her participation in these acts of violence, Ramos-Bobadilla engaged in bribery in furtherance of the conspiracy. Ramos-Bobadilla and her co-conspirators made payments to public officials in Honduras, including police officers and other law enforcement officials, to facilitate and protect the family’s drug-trafficking operations.

More:
https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2023/03/28/matriarch-sentenced-role-violent-multimillion-dollar-honduran-cocaine



Tito Montes Bobadilla, Herlinda Bobadilla, and Juan Carlos Montes Bobadilla (Submitted Images)