
Adán Amezcua Contreras (born ), along with his brothers
Jesús and
Luis
Luis is a given name. It is the Spanish form of the originally Germanic name or . Other Iberian Romance languages have comparable forms: (with an accent mark on the i) in Portuguese and Galician, in Aragonese and Catalan, while is arch ...
, was a leader of the
Colima Cartel, a
Mexican methamphetamine
Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug and less commonly as a second-line treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obesity. Meth ...
and precursor
drug smuggling
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
organization.
Arrest
On November 10, 1997, Adán Amezcua was arrested in his hometown of
Colima
Colima (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima.
Colima i ...
,
Col.,
Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
, on weapons charges.
Two years later in March 1999, Adán Amezcua was arrested on money laundering charges; the charges were however dropped 2 months later and he was released.
Kingpin Act sanction
On October 2, 2008, the
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...
sanctioned Amezcua Contreras under the
Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act
The Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, better known as the Kingpin Act, is landmark federal legislation in the United States intended to address international narcotics trafficking by imposing United States sanctions on foreign persons ...
(sometimes referred to simply as the "Kingpin Act"), for his involvement in drug trafficking along with nine other international criminals and six entities. The act prohibited U.S. citizens and companies from doing any kind of business activity with him, and virtually froze all his assets in the U.S.
See also
*
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
*
Mexican Drug War
*
Mexico–United States border
The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border trav ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amezcua Contreras, Adan
Living people
1960s births
Year of birth uncertain
Colima Cartel traffickers
People sanctioned under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act
People from Colima City
Mexican people of Basque descent