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** Broker’s Arrest Hits Mexico’s Fentanyl Trade
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Parker Asmann, Senior Investigator in Mexico
31 OCT, 2025
During years of on-the-ground investigations into Mexico’s drug trade, I’ve come to appreciate the crucial, yet often overlooked, role that brokers play. So when a Chinese fentanyl broker known as Brother Wang was recaptured and extradited ([link removed]) to the United States this week, my eyes got wide.
Zhi Dong Zhang, alias “Brother Wang,” was not just any alleged drug trafficker. He was one of the all-important intermediaries ([link removed]) that connect the legal sector of chemical precursor suppliers and illicit drug production in Mexico.
As my colleague Victoria Dittmar and I poured through dozens of US court documents to learn more, a clearer picture started to form. It backed up what we had found over several years of investigating synthetic drug production and speaking with traffickers on the ground in hotspots like Michoacán. Despite rarely being the target of security forces, brokers play a key role in powering this illicit trade.
Prosecutors accused Zhang of being the lynchpin ([link removed]) of a vast global supply chain, leveraging his contacts in Asia to acquire precursor chemicals that would be sent to criminal actors in Mexico to produce synthetic drugs that he would later help sell to buyers in the United States.
His transnational drug trafficking network was so sophisticated that authorities allege he managed to maintain ties with both the Sinaloa Cartel ([link removed]) and the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (CJNG ([link removed]) ), one-time rivals that have now formed anunlikely alliance ([link removed]) .
While his arrest is almost certain to disrupt the flow of precursor chemicals and synthetic drugs for those networks, we know it likely won’t be for long. If there is one thing I can be sure of after years of covering organized crime groups in Mexico, it is their ability to adapt.
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** Donor Exclusive Event | The Synthetic Drug Revolution: Lessons From 10 Years in The Field ([link removed])
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In this exclusive event for donors, we will delve into 10+ years of on-the-ground fieldwork to explore how synthetic drugs are reshaping organized crime and creating unprecedented challenges for policymakers.
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You may have noticed that we’ve tried to make this newsletter a bit more personal to better connect with readers like you.
Find out more about all the noteworthy stories from Latin America and the Caribbean that came across our desk this week below:
OnTheRadar (#OnTheRadar) | Editor’s Pick (#Editors-pick) | Don’t Miss (#Dont-Miss) | In the Spotlight (#In-The-Spotlight) #OnTheRadar | Audio (#Audio)
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#OnTheRadar ()
** This Week in Organized Crime
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◉ Government corruption takes center stage in US case against Bolivia’s former anti-drug chief. ([link removed])
◉ US intensifies its bombing campaign against alleged drug traffickers in Latin America. ([link removed])
◉A massive security operation targeting Brazil’s Red Command leaves a trail of blood in Rio de Janeiro. ([link removed])
Watch this Reel ([link removed])
Investigations > ([link removed])
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** Special Series: The Deadly US Strikes on Suspected Drug Traffickers ([link removed])
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In a new special series ([link removed]) , InSight Crime is tracking all of the US attacks on drug trafficking organizations in the Caribbean, analyzing the strategies behind them, and explaining the immediate and possible future impacts.
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Explore full series ([link removed])
< Criminal Profiles ([link removed])
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** In the Spotlight ()
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** Red Command ([link removed])
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This week, Brazil’s Red Command (Comando Vermelho – CV) made headlines following the deadliest police raid ever seen in the city of Rio de Janeiro. More than 130 people were killed during the operation, although its impact on the group is not yet clear.
The Red Command is Brazil’s oldest criminal group. Created in a Rio de Janeiro prison in the 1970s as a self-protection group for prisoners, it has since grown into a sizable national and transnational threat deeply involved in drug trafficking and other criminal economies. Read more here ([link removed]) .
** Don’t Miss ()
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🔗 Ghost Guns Are Increasingly Empowering Brazil’s Powerful Gangs ([link removed])
🔗 Chinese Broker’s Arrest Hits Mexico’s Fentanyl Trade Harder Than ‘Kingpin’… ([link removed])
🔗 Can Peru’s New President José Jerí Win His ‘War on Crime’? ([link removed])
🔗 Will New Reform Help Mexico Address Money Laundering Challenges? ([link removed])
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** #Audio () 28 OCT, 2025
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** Feeding the Beast: MS13 in Nashville
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US anti-crime ops and anti-migrant crackdown cross in Tennessee.
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