2012 in organized crime

none May 20252012 organized crime In 2012, a number of events took place in organized crime. The Mexican drug war continued to be a focus throughout the year.2012-05-13 Mexico violence: Monterrey police find 49 bodies https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-18052540 2025-05-06 BBC News en-GB2012-05-13 49 bodies left on Mexican highway https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/49-bodies-left-on-mexican-highway-20120514-1ylj6.html 2025-05-06 Brisbane Times en Events Ongoing: 2011–12 in the Mexican drug war January January 4 – Mexican drug cartel kingpin Benjamín Arellano Félix pleads guilty to racketeering and conspiracy to launder money in the United States.Shoichet Mariano Castillo,Catherine E. 2012-01-04 Former Mexican kingpin pleads guilty https://www.cnn.com/2012/01/04/justice/drug-trafficker-plea#:~:text=The%20plea%20agreement%20signed%20by,Duffy%20said%20in%20a%20statement. 2025-05-06 CNN en February February 19 – At least 44 people are killed in a prison brawl in Apodaca, Nuevo León. The brawl is believed to have been started after the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas, two rival Mexican drug cartels, clashed inside the prison.2012-02-19 Dozens of inmates killed in gang fight in Mexican jail https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17091170 2025-05-06 BBC News en-GB April April 29 – Seven people are killed in a three-way shootout between rival drug cartels and the authorities in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.2012-04-29 7 Killed in Clash in Mexican State of Sinaloa - ABC News ABC News http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/killed-clash-mexican-state-sinaloa-16235782#.T52cLMRYvDE 2025-05-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20120429163417/http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/killed-clash-mexican-state-sinaloa-16235782#.T52cLMRYvDE 29 April 2012 May May 2 – A gunfight between the Mexican Army and suspected gunmen of a drug cartel left 12 dead in the state of Sinaloa.2012-05-02 Mexico drug violence: Sinaloa shootout leaves 12 dead https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-17932666 2025-05-06 BBC News en-GB May 4 – 2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres 23 bodies—14 of them decapitated and 9 of them hanged from a bridge—are found in the Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo; those killed were reportedly members of the Gulf Cartel who were killed by Los Zetas, a rival cartel.Bodies of 23 found dumped near U.S. border in Mexico drug war https://news.yahoo.com/nine-bodies-hung-bridge-northern-mexico-174942376.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120508001226/http://news.yahoo.com:80/nine-bodies-hung-bridge-northern-mexico-174942376.html 2012-05-08 2025-05-06 Yahoo! News en-US Three journalists are killed and their bodies dumped in plastic bags in a canal in Boca del Río in the Mexican state of Veracruz, where the rival criminal groups of Los Zetas and the Gulf Cartel are fighting for territorial control.Althaus By Dudley More journalists murdered in Mexico https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/more-journalists-murdered-in-mexico-3533501.php https://web.archive.org/web/20240916090526/https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/more-journalists-murdered-in-mexico-3533501.php 2024-09-16 2025-05-06 Chron en May 9 – 15 mutilated bodies are found inside two abandoned SUVs in the state of Jalisco, a region that is under dispute between Los Zetas and the Sinaloa Cartel. The Mexican authorities believe the massacre is a response by Los Zetas for the 2012 Nuevo Laredo massacres reportedly carried out by Joaquín Guzmán Loera (a.k.a. El Chapo).2012-05-09 Mexico police find 18 mutilated bodies in Jalisco state https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18014646 2025-05-06 BBC News en-GB June June 5 – The dismembered remains of 7 bodies are found in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The bodies are discovered along with a written message accusing the authorities of cooperating with the Sinaloa Cartel, suggesting that the message may have been written by Los Zetas.2015-03-26 7 dismembered bodies found in coastal Mexico state https://www.foxnews.com/world/7-dismembered-bodies-found-in-coastal-mexico-state 2025-05-06 Associated Press en-US June 25 – Alleged drug traffickers shoot and kill 3 policemen who were on an anti-narcotics operative inside the Mexico City International Airport. The assassins were wearing law enforcement uniforms, although the Mexican authorities said that the cartel members sometimes wear false uniforms. No suspects have been arrested.3 policemen shot to death at Mexico City airport https://news.yahoo.com/3-policemen-shot-death-mexico-city-airport-171218486.html https://web.archive.org/web/20190908190814/https://news.yahoo.com/3-policemen-shot-death-mexico-city-airport-171218486.html 2019-09-08 2025-05-06 en-US June 29 – A car bomb explodes outside the city hall in the Mexican border city of Nuevo Laredo, injuring 7 bystanders. This is the third car bomb in Nuevo Laredo this year, and much of the violence is blamed on the country's most powerful cartels: Los Zetas and the Sinaloa Cartel.Buch By Jason Car bomb rocks Nuevo Laredo http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Car-bomb-rocks-Nuevo-Laredo-3673813.php https://web.archive.org/web/20240916035406/https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Car-bomb-rocks-Nuevo-Laredo-3673813.php 2024-09-16 2025-05-06 MySA en July July 5 – A high-ranking drug boss in the Mexican criminal group known as Gulf Cartel is apprehended in Costa Rica.2025-05-06 Latino News https://www.foxnews.com/category/latino 2025-05-06 Fox News en-US July 9 – Ten decapitated bodies are discovered inside an abandoned vehicle along a roadside in the Mexican city of Torreón, Coahuila. Reportedly, a written message was left behind by the perpetrators.2011-07-09 Ten decapitated bodies found in Torreon, Mexico https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-14095580 2025-05-06 BBC News en-GB A gunbattle breaks out near Choix, Sinaloa, after alleged drug traffickers ambushed and killed seven police officers; upon the aggression, the officers gunned down four cartel members.2012-07-09 Mexico gunfight leaves 11 dead in Sinaloa state https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-18778011 2025-05-06 BBC News en-GB The FBI reveals that the Los Zetas laundered millions of dollars through accounts at Bank of America; that money was then used to finance a horse racing business in the United States, allegedly ran by José Treviño Morales.2012-07-09 FBI Claims Drug Cartel Funneled Cash Through BofA https://www.huffpost.com/entry/los-zetas-laundered-money-bank-america_n_1658943 2025-05-06 HuffPost en August August 1 – Prosecutors formally charge three Mexican Army generals, including active General Roberto Dawe Gonzalez and retired General Tomás Ángeles Dauahare, and a lieutenant-colonel for their alleged links to a drug trafficking organization known as the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel.2012-07-31 3 Mexican army generals hit with drug charges - CBS News https://www.cbsnews.com/news/3-mexican-army-generals-hit-with-drug-charges/ 2025-05-06 www.cbsnews.com en-US August 3 – The Mexican Army arrests another member of Los Zetas cartel responsible for decapitating 49 bodies and dumping them on a roadside in May 2012; the suspect is one of the 37 fugitives of the Apodaca prison riot earlier this year. August 5 – Armed men kidnap the mayor of Tecpán de Galeana, Guerrero.2024-10-25 16 gunmen killed in Mexico clashes, 3 police officers wounded by car bomb amid escalating cartel violence - CBS News https://www.cbsnews.com/news/mexico-car-bomb-clashes-deaths-cartel-violence/ 2025-05-06 www.cbsnews.com en-US Cartel members armed with AK-47 assault rifles gun down and kill five teenage boys in Escobedo, Nuevo León. August 6 – Alleged members of Los Zetas cartel attack several media outlets in Monterrey for publishing on a rumored split between the two principal Zetas bosses.Corcoran Patrick 2012-08-08 Amid Rumors of Zetas Split, Press Targeted in Monterrey https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/amid-rumors-of-zetas-split-press-targeted-in-monterrey/ 2025-05-06 InSight Crime en-US August 10 – Four suspected drug traffickers of the Sinaloa Cartel, including the cousin of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, Mexico's most-wanted drug lord, are captured in Spain.2012-08-10 Spain seizes four Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel suspects https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19205651 2025-05-06 BBC News en-GB August 14 – Alleged members of the Gulf Cartel storm a bar in Monterrey and kill 10 people. August 15 – Mexican authorities confirm that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel is responsible for murdering five journalists in the state of Veracruz. This information was confirmed after the arrest of some of the members in the criminal organization.Lara Tania 2012-08-16 Mexican authorities declare cases of five killed journalists solved, despite lack of trial https://latamjournalismreview.org/articles/mexican-authorities-declare-cases-of-five-killed-journalists-solved-despite-lack-of-trial/ 2025-05-06 LatAm Journalism Review by the Knight Center en September September 1 – Eduardo Arellano Félix, a former drug lord of the Tijuana Cartel, is extradited to the United States from Mexico. He is the last brother of the cartel in a 2003 indictment to be extradited.X 2012-09-01 Alleged advisor in Mexican drug cartel is extradited to U.S. https://www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2012-sep-01-la-me-0901-arellano-felix-20120901-story.html 2025-05-06 Los Angeles Times en-US September 4 – The Mexican authorities arrest Mario Cárdenas Guillén, the second-in-command in the Gulf Cartel, leaving Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez as the last standing man in the criminal organization.https://www.occrp.org/en/news/gulf-cartel-leader-captured Gulf Cartel Leader Captured OCCRP September 13 – Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez, the supreme leader of the Gulf Cartel and one of the most-wanted drug lords in Mexico, is arrested in the state of Tamaulipas.Jorge Eduardo Costilla-Sanchez (Captured) https://www.state.gov/narcotics-rewards-program-target-information-brought-to-justice/jorge-eduardo-costilla-sanchez-captured/ 2025-05-06 United States Department of State en-US October October 13 – The Mexican Army kills Manuel Torres Félix, one of the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel. November November 23 – The Mexican federal police arrested Joe Saenz, one of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives, in the western city of Guadalajara.2012-11-23 Mexico arrests man on FBI 10 most wanted list https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-20473129 2025-05-06 BBC News en-GB November 27 – Mexican beauty queen María Susana Flores Gámez, crowned as 2012 Woman of Sinaloa, is killed during a weekend shootout in Sinaloa. 2012-11-26 Mexican beauty queen killed in shootout https://www.cnn.com/2012/11/26/world/americas/mexico-beauty-queen-death 2025-05-06 CNN en Arts and literature Killing Them SoftlyMcNary Dave 2010-11-03 Brad Pitt in talks for 'Cogan's Trade' https://variety.com/2010/film/news/brad-pitt-in-talks-for-cogan-s-trade-1118026781/ 2025-05-06 Variety en-US Deaths January 23 – Anthony Capo, 52, American mobster-turned-informant (DeCavalcante crime family).Schram Jamie 2012-01-25 Mob rat squeals no more https://nypost.com/2012/01/25/mob-rat-squeals-no-more/ 2025-05-06 en-US August 15 – Matthew Ianniello, 92, American mobster, member of the Genovese crime family. October 13 – Manuel Torres Félix, 58, Mexican drug trafficker for the Sinaloa Cartel.2012-10-16 Mexican army kills Sinaloa cartel leader Fox News Latino Fox News http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/10/13/mexican-army-kills-sinaloa-cartel-leader/ 2025-05-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20121016033322/http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/10/13/mexican-army-kills-sinaloa-cartel-leader/ 16 October 2012 October 22 – Chuckie Merlino, 73, American mobster (Philadelphia crime family).WRITER Troy Graham, INQUIRER STAFF 2012-10-23 Mobster ‘Chuckie’ Merlino dies in federal prison in Texas https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/breaking/20121023_Mobster_Chuckie_Merlino_dies_in_federal_prison_in_Texas.html 2025-05-06 Inquirer.com en December 25 – Frank Calabrese Sr., 75, American mafia hitman (Family Secrets). See also Timeline of the Mexican drug war Timeline of organized crime Bibliography Notes 2 References Kelly, Robert J. Schatzberg, Rufus Chin, Ko-lin Handbook of organized crime in the United States 1994 Greenwood Publishing Group 0-313-28366-4 refKellySchatzbergChin1994 1994 C. Vilalta Monthly patterns, trends, and trajectories in the count of deaths related to organized crime, 2006-2010 2011 Conference at UAEM (in Spanish), April 26, 2011 http://geocrimen.cide.edu/resources/Ponencias-y-Medios/Vilalta---Crimen-organizado-v24Abril2011.pdf dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110817033947/http://geocrimen.cide.edu/resources/Ponencias-y-Medios/Vilalta---Crimen-organizado-v24Abril2011.pdf August 17, 2011 Category:Years in organized crime Organized crime