Key facts
- Jose Angel Rivera, also known as Don Flaco, was arrested in Mexico City on Tuesday.
- Rivera is accused of coordinating and financing an organization that transported fentanyl precursors from China to Mexico and the US.
- The arrest was a joint operation involving Mexican authorities, the FBI, and the US Drug Enforcement Administration.
- Rivera was sanctioned by the US State Department in January 2023 for alleged fentanyl trafficking.
An alleged Mexican drug trafficker accused of coordinating and financing an organization dedicated to transporting chemical precursors used for the production of fentanyl from China to Mexico and the United States was arrested in Mexico City on Tuesday, Mexico's security minister said. Jose Angel Rivera, also known by his alias Don Flaco, was detained by Mexican authorities in a joint operation carried out alongside the FBI and the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Omar Garcia Harfuch said in a post on X. Rivera had been sanctioned by the US State Department in January 2023 for his alleged involvement in fentanyl trafficking into the US. "Through international cooperation, shared responsibility, and unrestricted respect for our sovereignty, we are cutting off the flow of money that finances the criminal organizations causing so much harm in Mexico and other countries," Harfuch said. Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump told the United Nations that Mexico was the epicenter of drug cartel violence, adding that the country had to reclaim control of its territory.