DEA operation exposes growing links between Sinaloa cartel and Chinese organized crime
NBCJUN 2024
DOJ: Cartel Allegedly Laundering Drug Money via Chinese 'Underground Banking'
Above: A cashier at a Travelex Bureau de Change counts US dollars in exchange for British pounds February 19, 2004 in London. Image copyright: Ian Waldie/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Anti-China narrative
China is deeply embedded in the deadly drug trade that costs the lives of countless Americans every year. Internal corruption and an antipathy to US cooperation have made the PRC a major source of synthetic opioid drugs, and it should come as no surprise that there are connections to money laundering for violent cartels. Beijing needs to clean house and crack down on this dangerous black market.
Pro-China narrative
This massive case could not have come together without the cooperation of Chinese authorities, which led to this impressive indictment. China is not the reason America has such a great demand for illicit drugs, but it will always step up to ensure its citizens are not involved in crime anywhere in the world. The world always benefits when the US ceases its provocations and cooperates in good faith with China.