Four members of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a foreign terrorist organization, are facing federal charges after they were arrested in the Czech Republic. The men are accused of trying to buy military weapons with drugs trafficked into the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Charges and Accusations

The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Greg Kehoe during a news conference in Tampa, Florida. The indictment accuses the four men of conspiring to traffic drugs and firearms as part of their alleged affiliation with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, or CJNG.

The defendants, Edgar Alejandro Lopez Velasco, Noe Diaz Jimenez, Leobardo Gaxiola Lopez, and Jose Miguel Alvarado Morales, face up to life in federal prison if convicted. Lopez Velasco and Alvarado Morales were extradited to the Middle District of Florida and made their initial court appearances in Tampa.

European Weapons-for-Drugs Operation

According to the indictment, the defendants negotiated the sale of machine guns and destructive devices from the Czech Republic to Mexico. The weapons allegedly were intended to be used against rival cartels, civilians, police, and military personnel in Mexico.

The indictment says the weapons included European machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, mortar launchers, ammunition, and other ordnance. In exchange, the defendants are accused of paying for the weapons with fentanyl and methamphetamine that was imported into the United States for distribution.

Mexican authorities also dismantled Diaz Jimenez’s synthetic opioid laboratory in Zapopan, Jalisco, on June 12, prosecutors said.

Federal Law Enforcement Message

U.S. Attorney Greg Kehoe warned international drug and weapons traffickers that federal authorities will pursue them regardless of where they operate. The administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Terry Cole, stated that CJNG is killing a record number of Americans and will be treated as a terrorist organization.

Original reporting: Tampa Bay Florida News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.