In a major stike the U.S. DEA has arrested 20 suspected associates of La Oficina de Envigado, a successor to the defunct Medellin cartel, and seized more than $200 million as reported by Laura J. Nelson for The Boston Globe: "The 20 people arrested yesterday, who were captured in Massachusetts and Colombia, are all slated to be tried in Boston on charges of laundering drug money through the region, US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz said."
The bust followed an investigation pursuant to which a DEA undercover agent infiltrated the operation as reported by Laura J. Nelson for The Boston Globe:
For nearly five years he traveled under a fake name, sending hundreds of millions of dollars in drug money to members of an infamous Colombian cartel. He won the trust of influential money launderers, meeting in hotel lobbies, parking lots, and bustling food courts to discuss cocaine shipments to Houston and pick up suitcases stuffed with drug money.
At a press conference on Thursday announcing the charges DEA agent Matthew Addington said "money is the lifeblood of the cartels," and "if you stop the money, you kill the organization."
That's how it's done.
