The son of a convicted Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) cartel boss who is serving a life term in a U.S. federal prison went to a posh private school in Florida, while his relatives continued to run a terrorist organization in Mexico.
This week, 45-year-old Wendy Dalaithy Amaral Arevalo, the ex-wife of a top drug lord, pleaded guilty to violating counternarcotics sanctions by enrolling her son in a posh private boarding school in Florida where contracts point to more than $500,000 in tuition. She faces a possible prison sentence of up to 10 years and a $10 million fine at a sentencing hearing scheduled for December.
Amaral Arevalo is the ex-wife and current partner of Gerardo Gonzalez Valencia, one of the leaders of Los Cuinis, a group known as the financial wing of the terrorist organization Cartel Jalisco New Generation. In Fenruary 20215, the Trump Administration designated CJNG and their allies as foreign terrorist organizations. The drug cartel is considered one of Mexico’s most violent and powerful criminal organizations and has been directly linked to the use of explosive devices and mass killings as a way to expand their power.
Gonzalez Gonzalez Valencia is serving a life term in prison for his role in trafficking tons of cocaine.
In 2015, federal investigators added Amaral Arevalo to the U.S. Treasury’s OFAC list of sanctioned individuals. The move marked her as an active participant in the cartel and prohibited any U.S. business or individual from doing business with her.
Court documents revealed that despite being on the OFAC list, Amaral Arevalo enrolled her son at IMG Academy, a posh private boarding school in Florida. Federal prosecutors claim that she paid the school $504,497.48 in tuition payments during his time there. In February, IMG Academy settled with the U.S. Department of the Treasury and agreed to pay $1.72 million for having done business with a cartel-connected individual on the OFAC list
Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart News Foundation. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.
Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart News Foundation’s Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.