2026 in organized crime
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In 2026, a number of events took place in organized crime.
Events
- January 3 – As part of the Operation Southern Spear, and the wider war on drugs, the United States orders airstrikes on Caracas, Venezuela, and captures Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and takes him to New York to be tried on drug and weapons charges.[1]
- January 6 – Former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores plead not guilty to charges of drug trafficking and narcoterrorism.[2]
- January 12 –
- Swedish police seize three tonnes of cocaine found in a shipping container from South America at the Port of Helsingborg, making it the country's single-largest seizure of the illegal drug.[3]
- Spanish police, in coordination with the UK National Crime Agency and the US DEA, seize 10 tonnes of cocaine hidden among a cargo of salt on a cargo ship off the Canary Islands. It is the country's largest ever seizure of drugs at sea. Thirteen people on board the vessel are arrested.[4]
- January 13 – Mexican police arrest six alleged Tren de Aragua members operating in Mexico City on charges of drug trafficking, extortion, and human trafficking.[5]
- January 29 – Eleven members of a Burmese mafia family are executed in China.[6]
- February 13 – The United States Armed Forces says it has conducted an airstrike on a boat suspected of transporting illegal narcotics in the Caribbean Sea, killing three people.[7]
- February 22 – Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (alias "El Mencho"), leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), is killed during a security operation carried out by the Mexican Armed Forces near Tapalpa, Jalisco. In response, CJNG members launched coordinated retaliatory attacks, including road blockades involving burning vehicles and improvised checkpoints across multiple states.[8]
- February 23 – Hugo César Macías Ureña, described as El Mencho's right hand man, is fatally shot following him reportedly offering up to MX$20,000 for each soldier killed in retalliation for the death of El Mencho the previous day.[9]
- March 13 – Bolivian authorities arrest suspected Uruguayan drug cartel leader Sebastián Marset during a police operation in Santa Cruz de la Sierra. Marset, who is wanted by several countries and has a US$2 million reward linked to money laundering allegations, is detained along with four other individuals.[10]
- March 18 – Ángel Esteban Aguilar Morales aka Lobo Menor, an Ecuadorean national suspected of leading the Los Lobos gang and wanted in Ecuador over the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio in 2023, is arrested in Mexico City and extradited to Colombia, where he is also wanted on charges of involvement with FARC dissidents.[11]
- March 19 – A raid kills eleven members of the Sinaloa Cartel in Sinaloa, with a senior cartel leader being captured along with many weapons.[12]
Arts and literature
Deaths
- January 8: Tadamasa Goto, 83, Japanese crime boss.[13]
- February 22: Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, 59, Mexican drug lord, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (since 2010), shot.[14]
- February 23: Hugo César Macías Ureña, Mexican cartel member (Jalisco New Generation Cartel), shot.[15]
- March 2: Benedetto Santapaola, 87, Italian mobster from Catania.[16]
- March 5: Bobby Cummines, 74, English gangster.[17]
See also
References
- ^ "Rubio says US not at war with Venezuela, as Maduro set to appear in New York court on Monday". BBC News. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
- ^ "Maduro and his wife plead not guilty at first court appearance since capture in Venezuela". NBC News. 6 January 2026. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
- ^ "Sweden makes record three-ton seizure of cocaine from South America".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Jones, Sam (12 January 2026). "Spanish police seize 10 tonnes of cocaine hidden in ship off Canary Islands". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
- ^ "Mexico arrests 6 alleged members of Tren de Aragua and 4 of Jalisco New Generation Cartel". AP News. 13 January 2026. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
- ^ "China executes 11 members of Myanmar scam mafia". www.bbc.com. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
- ^ "US military says it struck a vessel in Caribbean, killing three".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Sánchez, Fabiola (22 February 2026). "Mexican army kills leader of powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel during operation to capture him". AP News. Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ^ Redacción, Por (23 February 2026). "¿Quién es 'El Tuli', hombre de confianza de 'El Mencho' que ofrecía 20 mil pesos por asesinar a soldados?". El Financiero (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 February 2026.
- ^ "Top narco trafficker Marset handed to US after Bolivia arrest". France 24. 13 March 2026. Retrieved 13 March 2026.
- ^ "Mexico arrests suspect wanted in the 2023 killing of Ecuadorian candidate and sends him to Colombia". AP News. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
- ^ "At least 11 killed in security operation".
- ^ 産経新聞 (12 February 2026). "山口組元幹部、後藤忠政氏が死去 「武闘派」旧後藤組率いる". 産経新聞：産経ニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 13 February 2026.
- ^ en, Por Nallely SánchezSeguir (22 February 2026). "Abatieron a Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes El Mencho, líder máximo del Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación CJNG". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 22 February 2026.
- ^ "Leading Cartel member "El Tuli" killed in Jalisco after "El Mencho" death". Newsweek. 23 February 2026. Retrieved 24 February 2026.
- ^ "Mafia, è morto il boss Nitto Santapaola nel carcere di Milano". laRepubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 2 March 2026.
- ^ O'Toole, Lauran (6 March 2026). "Notorious 70s gangster turned anti-crime campaigner dies aged 74". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2026.