A father and son duo from Utah are facing serious charges after being indicted for providing material support to a Mexican cartel, which has recently been labeled as a foreign terrorist organization by the Secretary of State. Maxwell Sterling Jensen, 25, and James Lael Jensen, 68, were allegedly involved in a scheme that abetted the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) with U.S. currency, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei on the U.S. Attorney's Office website.
The superseding indictment issued on May 22 provides details about the Jensens' operations through Arroyo Terminals, based in Rio Hondo, Texas. Beyond financing a terrorist organization, the duo is also charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and with aiding and abetting the smuggling of crude oil. These activities have allegedly resulted in approximately 2,881 shipments of oil entering the US in violation of the Tariff Act. If convicted, the Jensens could face up to two decades in prison, while other charges might add significant time and hefty fines onto their sentences, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee of ICE-HSI San Antonio stressed the importance of the case, stating, "Cases like this highlight the often-dangerous relationships between alleged unscrupulous U.S. businesses and terrorist organizations.” He affirmed ICE-HSI's commitment to "protecting our economy and holding offenders accountable." The case evolved from the DEA's investigation into drug trafficking into broader brush of crime, touching on the lucrative and illicit crude oil market, which Special Agent in Charge William Kimbell of DEA-Houston noted as a significant funding source for Mexican drug cartels, as stated by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"It is a top priority of the FBI to eliminate foreign terrorist organizations by depriving them of the funding they need to operate," said FBI Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp, emphasizing the collective efforts to dismantle the operations of violent cartels. The IRS also had a role to play, with acting Special Agent in Charge Lucy Tan of IRS Criminal Investigation's Houston Field Office expressing pride in the agency's use of forensic accounting to build the case. Upon the arrests, authorities seized several tank barges and vehicles, as well as oil and real properties related to Arroyo Terminals, which the U.S. will seek to forfeit, as noted by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The investigation was part of a joint effort among various law enforcement agencies, which is indicative of Operation Liquid Death. This initiative itself falls under Operation Take Back America's objective to eliminate illegal immigration's "invasion," destroy cartels, and protect communities from violent crime. The collaborative efforts are vital, as highlighted in the case against the Jensens. Assistant U.S. Attorneys James Sturgis and Laura Garcia are prosecuting the case, with Mary Ellen Smyth and Tyler Foster handling the forfeiture matters, a marker of the inter-agency approach to tackling such complex criminal endeavours, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
