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Mexican federal forces captured Remigio Valdez Lao in Cancún, also known as "El Milo", identified as the operational and financial coordinator of the transnational criminal organization known as the Cuban-American Mafia, who is wanted for extradition to the United States for human trafficking, drug trafficking, and international smuggling.
The operation took place in the Residencial Arbolada neighborhood, in the municipality of Benito Juárez, and was carried out in coordination by elements of the Secretary of the Navy, the Attorney General's Office, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection, the Secretary of National Defense, the National Guard, and the Secretary of Citizen Security of Quintana Roo.
Along with "El Milo" Joseline García Biscaino, an alleged member of the criminal group, was arrested. During the operation, 38 doses of marijuana and a gray truck were seized.
After confirming his identity, Valdez Lao was transported by air to Mexico City to begin the extradition process, issued by the Southern District Court of Florida.
The Mexico's Security Cabinet described "El Milo" as "a priority target and operational and financial coordinator of the organization" and stated that "this arrest represents a direct impact on the operational capability of the criminal group and is the result of international cooperation mechanisms based on respect for sovereignty."
The Cuban-American Mafia has been operating since at least 2009 in Cuba, Mexico, Spain, and southern Florida, with its base of operations in tourist areas of the Yucatán Peninsula: Cancún, Isla Mujeres, and Cozumel. Its main activities have included the trafficking and extortion of Cuban migrants attempting to reach the United States, charging ransoms of up to $10,000 per person.
According to court documents from the U.S. Department of Justice, members of the network threatened to torture, starve, and kill the victims if their relatives refused to pay. Victims who could not meet the ransom were beaten, threatened with firearms, and subjected to electric shocks with stun devices.
In addition to human trafficking, the network was involved in the theft of vessels on the west coast of Florida, arms trafficking, bribery of officials, and trafficking of Cuban baseball players to U.S. leagues.
Valdez Lao has a history that dates back years: in 2015 he was arrested in Cancun for possession of cocaine and marijuana, but was released after posting bail, and in 2010 Florida media linked him to thefts in stores in Sarasota. Intelligence reports indicate that the organization has evolved towards strategic alliances with subsidiaries of the Cártel de Sinaloa to strengthen its human trafficking routes.
The judicial pursuit of this network has resulted in previous convictions in the United States: in October 2023, a jury in Miami found Javier Hernández, a fifty-year-old Cuban resident of Miami Beach, guilty of 95 months in federal prison for theft of vessels and money laundering; six other Cuban citizens residing in Mexico pleaded guilty to conspiracy and human smuggling.
The arrest of "El Milo" is the most significant action against this organization in recent years, taking out its main financial and operational mastermind of a network that has turned Cuban migration into a criminal enterprise for over a decade.
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