Mexico president dismisses US claim of cartel bounties on immigration officials Sheinbaum says she has ‘no information’ about Trump administration claim as experts also deeply skeptical The Guardian - US · Oct 16, 2025
El Chapo pal accused of running logistics for Sinaloa kingpin asks for break in 22-year sentence Alfredo Vasquez-Hernandez, 68, was one of the top Sinaloa members to be sentenced in Chicago. Chicago Sun-Times · Jan 10, 2024
Suspected Mexican cartel leader facing drug charges in Chicago sees Treasury Department freeze his assets Authorities say Oscar Manuel Gastelum Iribe, as head of the Beltran Leyva Organization, conspired to import tons of heroin and cocaine. Chicago Sun-Times · Dec 8, 2023
In El Chapo fallout, older brother of twin Chicago drug traffickers sentenced for helping launder their money Armando Flores, the brother of Margarito and Pedro Flores, admitted to hiding $2.3 million of the twins’ drug proceeds under his back porch in Texas. He got “time served” for the 19 months he spent in jail. Chicago Sun-Times · Oct 11, 2023
Wife of cartel boss who snitched on El Chapo is jailed for hiding $2.3m of drug money Prosecutors say money was used for luxury vacations, shopping sprees, private schools fees and to attend a J-Lo concert The Independent UK · Sep 27, 2023
Another ‘cartel wife’ gets 3.5 years for hiding millions in drug money tied to El Chapo’s Sinaloa cartel The feds pointed out the $2.3 million Valerie Gaytan stashed was generated “through the sale of thousands of kilograms of drugs in the United States ... that harmed individuals and communities in countless ways.” Chicago Sun-Times · Sep 25, 2023
In El Chapo fallout, one of Chicago ‘cartel wives’ should get stiffer sentence than accomplices, feds say They say Valerie Gaytan should get five years for laundering drug money from her husband Margarito Flores and his twin brother Pedro Flores, Chicago cocaine kingpins who helped convict the Sinaloa cartel boss. Her sister-in-law got 3½ years. Chicago Sun-Times · Sep 14, 2023
‘Don’t screw up,’ judge warns sister-in-law of Flores twins who turned on El Chapo, giving her probation “Here’s the deal, this is like you just won the World Series,” U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly warned Bianca Finnigan, 34. “You won’t get a second break.” Chicago Sun-Times · Aug 25, 2023
Margarito Flores, Chicago cocaine kingpin who helped bring down El Chapo, will teach cops how to catch drug traffickers One of the notorious Flores twins is to lead a seminar at the Kane County sheriff’s office — “a rare chance for us to get into the mind of the people we are trying to find,” an official says. Chicago Sun-Times · Jul 26, 2023
Top lieutenant for drug kingpin ‘El Chapo’ gets more than 19 years in federal prison Felipe Cabrera Sarabia, known as “The Engineer,” had pleaded guilty to a single count in a sweeping indictment that targeted the top hierarchy of the Sinaloa Cartel. Chicago Sun-Times · Jul 25, 2023
‘Cartel wife’ of Chicago cocaine kingpin gets 3 1/2 years for hiding hundreds of thousands of dollars from feds Vivianna Lopez made an emotional plea for mercy, telling the judge she feared for the lives of her children after Pedro Flores and his brother, Margarito, famously turned against the Sinaloa cartel and helped bring down Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera. Chicago Sun-Times · Jul 17, 2023
‘Cartel wives’ of Chicago’s twin cocaine kingpins plead guilty to stashing drug cash Vivianna Lopez and Valerie Gaytan, wives of Pedro and Margarito Flores, admitted to involvement in a conspiracy to launder millions from their husbands’ drug trafficking business after the men were taken into federal custody. Chicago Sun-Times · Apr 20, 2023
Wives of Flores twins, who helped put drug kingpin ‘El Chapo’ behind bars, to plea guilty to money laundering The wives allegedly collected drug debts owed to their husbands and spent lavishly. Chicago Sun-Times · Mar 16, 2023
‘El Chapo’ aide pleads guilty to drug charges in Chicago Felipe Cabrera Sarabia, known as “The Engineer,” told a judge he had “always made a living as a cattle rancher.” Now he faces up to life in prison. Chicago Sun-Times · Jan 20, 2023
Chicago Tribune · Nov 8, 2022 Judge rules wives of Chicago twins who cooperated against ‘El Chapo’ did not have immunity CHICAGO — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the wives of twin Chicago drug traffickers who cooperated against Sinaloa boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman did not have immunity from prosecution, a considerable setback for the women who are accused of laundering millions of their husbands’ drug proceeds over a 12-year…
Chicago Sun-Times · Nov 8, 2022 ‘Cartel wives’ married to Pedro Flores, Margarito Flores lose bid to dismiss money-laundering charges Married to the convicted Chicago cocaine traffickers who helped bring down Sinaloa cartel drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán Loera, Vivianna Lopez and Valerie Gaytan are accused of spending millions of drug proceeds on everything from vacations to tuition.
Chicago Sun-Times · Nov 4, 2022 Ex-dealers say McDonald’s was the business model, students sue Loyola for ‘mishandled’ sex misconduct claims and more in your Chicago news roundup Today’s update is a 5-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.
Chicago Sun-Times · Nov 4, 2022 From flipping Big Macs to importing tons of cocaine: Chicago twins who helped bring down El Chapo say McDonald’s was their business model In a new podcast, Margarito Flores and Pedro Flores say they got jobs at a Little Village McDonald’s when they were teenagers and honed management skills they used in their drug business.
Chicago Tribune · Jul 26, 2022 ‘What do we have to protect us? Nothing’: Jail calls of Flores twins, wives discussing immunity played in court CHICAGO — Chicago twins Pedro and Margarito Flores were in the middle of their cooperation against Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman in 2010 when authorities intercepted a series of jail calls showing the brothers and their wives had growing concerns over the lack of an immunity deal from…
Chicago Sun-Times · Jul 25, 2022 Pedro Flores, star witness against El Chapo, tells judge feds gave his wife immunity against prosecution The onetime Chicago cocaine kingpin’s wife Vivianna Lopez and his brother’s wife Valerie Gaytan are fighting money-laundering charges. Flores says immunity for them was part of the deal he and his twin brother Margarito Flores, who both grew up in Little Village, were given.
Chicago Tribune · Jul 25, 2022 Wives of twins who helped bring down ‘El Chapo’ find themselves in spotlight, claiming they have immunity from federal hammer CHICAGO — On a winter evening a little over a decade ago, as their husbands were busy cooperating against the most wanted cartel boss in the world, Valerie Gaytan and Vivianna Lopez were driving around Chicago’s North Side with more than $4 million in cash in their SUV.
Chicago Sun-Times · Apr 22, 2022 Cocaine seizures soar in Chicago, surrounding states, as DEA ‘snow’ forecast comes true Heroin and marijuana have long been Mexican cartels’ big moneymakers in Chicago. But DEA cocaine seizures rose 50% in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana in the year ending Sept. 30 and keep rising in the Chicago area.
Chicago Sun-Times · Mar 24, 2022 Sister-in-law of twins who turned against ‘El Chapo’ pleads guilty for helping spend drug money An indictment filed in June 2021 alleged the wives of Pedro and Margarito Flores helped stash away hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug money over a dozen years, starting with their husbands’ surrender in December 2008.
Chicago Tribune · Mar 18, 2022 Brother of Chicago twins who helped take down 'El Chapo' admits to burying millions in drug proceeds under porch CHICAGO — Chicago twins Pedro and Margarito Flores were just 16 when their older brother Armando was arrested in the late 1990s for selling narcotics out of a Cicero auto dealership.
Chicago Sun-Times · Mar 17, 2022 Brother of Chicago’s Flores twins who helped bring down El Chapo admits hiding millions for them Armando Flores, whose brothers Pedro Flores and Margarito Flores once were Chicago’s drug kingpins, stashed it under his porch in Texas for them after they surrendered in 2008.