If you needed proof that Mexican cartels will do anything illegal to make a buck, this story of the Cartel “Tiger King” of New Mexico should make the case.
David Mendoza-Enriquez (also known as “Cholo”) has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for leading a drug trafficking organization responsible for moving tens of thousands of fentanyl pills from Mexico into Albuquerque, along with smuggling aliens and illegal wildlife into the U.S.
In 2023, Albuquerque police officers investigating a shooting discovered a live tiger cub (now named “Duke”) in a dog crate hidden inside a mobile home.
The police department suspected they were looking into a violation of the Lacey Act (which makes it illegal to possess, transport, or sell wildlife, fish, and plants across state or international borders), so the case soon became a federal investigation.
According to the federal indictment against Mendoza-Enriquez, agents were able to link him to the tiger cub from a video that showed his distinctive hand tattoos next to the cub about a week after he had sent a WhatsApp message in Spanish that read “Right now, what I have for sale here is two tigers.”
The US Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque says Mendoza-Enriquez “conspired to import other exotic animals for profit and sought to expand his criminal operation into alien smuggling, arranging for his sons and other(s) to be transported from Mexico into the United States. On one occasion, he directed aliens to cross the border alongside an alligator, which had its mouth taped shut.”
The Department of Justice says Mendoza-Enriquez himself was also an illegal alien.
Not content to illegally earn money smuggling illegal aliens and exotic wildlife, the US Attorney’s office says Mendoza-Enriquez also smuggled “tens of thousands of fentanyl pills from Mexico into Albuquerque,” some of which he sold from his taco restaurant.
Mendoza-Enriquez has since pleaded guilty to eight federal charges, including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, four counts of distribution of fentanyl, alien in possession of ammunition, conspiracy to smuggle aliens, and conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act for illegal wildlife trafficking.
Thirteen others involved in his smuggling and drug sales operation have also been arrested and pleaded guilty to federal charges.
As for the tiger cub, “Duke” now has a more comfortable home at the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado.
Are you surprised to find out the Mexican Cartels are also smuggling wild animals into the United States?
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Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
