PHOENIX — The United States ambassador in Mexico announced the arrest of a leader of a firearms trafficking organization that operates at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Michael Bacasegua-Barriga was arrested in Nogales, Sonora on Saturday.
In a Twitter publication, Ambassador Ken Salazar said that both administrations have a commitment to the security of both nations and that they're working together to stop firearm trafficking.
“Michael Bacasegua-Barriga is the leader of Bacasegua arms trafficking organization,” assures the tweet.
“This criminal group represents an illegal source of firearms that operates in Sonora, Mexico and Nogales, Arizona. With their illicit activities, they contribute directly to the cartels’ violence in Mexico,” reads the statement.
The Mexican cartels are in big part responsible for the fentanyl that comes into the United States.
Salazar said the arrest is a result of work both administrations have been doing in partnership since 2022 and have had several seizures.
The ambassador refers to an operation in March 2022 that concluded with the confiscation of firearms and magazines. Authorities said the Bacasegua group was responsible for the trafficking of 190 firearms, over 2.8 million rounds of ammunition, and over 14,000 magazines which were seized in Navojoa, Sonora at that time.
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