Cartel Leaders & Atlanta-Based Money Launderer Indicted in Major US Anti-Trafficking & Money Laundering Operation

In a decisive blow against transnational organised crime, US federal authorities have unsealed indictments charging the top leadership of the violent Mexican drug cartel La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM) and their Georgia-based financial facilitator. The operation, part of a broader crackdown on drug trafficking and international money laundering, underscores the Justice Department’s commitment to dismantling criminal enterprises fueling addiction and violence across American communities.

Cartel Kingpins Charged with Drug Trafficking & Money Laundering Conspiracy

Siblings Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga (alias El Pez, Pescado, Mojarra) and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga (alias El Fresa, El Feyo, La Fruta), of Guerrero, Mexico, and co-founders of LNFM, were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Georgia. The charges include conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and import heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and fentanyl, as well as money laundering conspiracy.

The Hurtado brothers are considered Consolidated Priority Organization Targets (CPOTs) and are currently fugitives believed to be in Mexico. The US Department of State has designated LNFM as both a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) entity. Rewards totalling $8 million are now offered for information leading to the brothers’ arrests.

Simultaneously, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued financial sanctions against the Hurtado brothers and two additional cartel-linked siblings, Ubaldo and Adita Hurtado Olascoaga, as part of an aggressive push to sever LNFM’s financial lifelines.

Atlanta-Based Money Launderer Facilitated Cartel Proceeds

The investigation also targets Guadalupe Tabares Martinez, known as Yosel Medrano Hernandez and Lupe, who allegedly served as a money launderer for LNFM from her base in Mableton, Georgia. A federal grand jury has charged her with conspiracy to commit international money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money services business, and additional related offences.

Guadalupe is accused of collecting bulk cash from drug trafficking activities and laundering the proceeds through her business, Noyola Multiservice, by transmitting the funds to LNFM operatives in Mexico. Her activities are believed to have played a key role in concealing and moving hundreds of thousands of dollars linked to narcotics distribution across the United States.

Her brothers were also implicated:

• Franco Tabares Martinez, a senior LNFM figure, faces charges for distributing methamphetamine in the Atlanta area.

• Uriel Tabares-Martinez was sanctioned by OFAC in June 2024.

• Pablo Tabares Martinez pleaded guilty in January 2025 to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute.

  
  

Strike Force Operation Targets Drug Trafficking & Laundering Networks

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a comprehensive initiative led by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). It brings together multi-agency resources to combat drug cartels, transnational criminal organisations, and the money laundering networks that sustain them.

The David G. Wilhelm Atlanta OCDETF Strike Force, composed of agents from the DEA, HSI, FBI, IRS, US Marshals, ATF, Postal Inspection Service, and state and local law enforcement, spearheaded the investigation. Their objective: to identify and dismantle major drug trafficking and money laundering organisations in Georgia and beyond.

Acting US Attorney Richard S. Moultrie Jr. commented:

These federal indictments, coupled with OFAC sanctions, reinforce our determination to pursue and dismantle those who smuggle dangerous drugs into the United States and launder the proceeds back to their criminal networks abroad.

A Multi-Front Attack on Drug Proceeds & Cartel Finance

Money laundering remains central to cartel operations, enabling criminal organisations to clean illicit gains and perpetuate violence across borders. This case exemplifies how financial facilitators embedded in US communities play a critical role in sustaining international drug empires.

Attorney General Pamela Bondi stated:

If you contribute to the death of Americans by peddling poison and laundering its profits, we will track you down and bring you to justice—no matter where you are.

The investigation revealed that LNFM trafficked multi-kilogram quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine into the US, particularly targeting the Atlanta metropolitan area, while simultaneously exporting drug proceeds through unlicensed money service businesses.

Conclusion

The unsealing of these indictments and the accompanying sanctions represent a comprehensive assault on both the narcotics and money laundering components of LNFM’s operations. By jointly targeting the supply chain and financial infrastructure, federal authorities are sending an unequivocal message: no trafficker or money launderer is beyond the reach of justice.

Read the press release here.