Siblings Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga — also known as El Pez, Pescado, and Mojarra — and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga — also known as El Fresa, El Feyo, and La Fruta — both of Guerrero, Mexico, and co-leaders of the La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM) drug cartel, were charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl knowing those controlled substances would be imported into the United States, conspiracy to import those controlled substances into the United States, and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute those controlled substances.
The indictments were returned in September 2024 and recently unsealed. Prior to his indictment, Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga was designated as a Consolidated Priority Target (CPOT) by the Organised Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program. Both Hurtado Olascoaga brothers are fugitives believed to be residing in Mexico.
In addition, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced new sanctions against Johnny and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga and their siblings, LNFM members Ubaldo Hurtado Olascoaga and Adita Hurtado Olascoaga.
On February 20, the U.S. Department of State also announced the designation of LNFM as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
Additionally, the Department of State announced a Narcotics Rewards Program offer of up to $5 million and $3 million, respectively, for information leading to the arrests or convictions of Johnny and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga.
Franco Tabares Martinez, 51, of Guerrero, Mexico, a high-ranking member of LNFM, was charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute and related substantive counts of drug trafficking.
The indictment was unsealed against Franco Tabares Martinez on July 7, 2023, after which OFAC sanctioned him.
On June 20, 2024, his brother Uriel Tabares-Martinez was also sanctioned by OFAC. Another brother, Pablo Tabares Martinez, pleaded guilty on January 13 to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
Their sister, Guadalupe Tabares Martinez — also known as Yosel Medrano Hernandez and Lupe — of Mableton, Georgia, has now been charged by a federal grand jury seated in the Northern District of Georgia with conspiracy to commit international money laundering, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money services business, and related substantive counts.
The indictment was returned on April 8 and was recently unsealed.
“Today’s indictments and OFAC sanctions against high-ranking LNFM cartel members sends a clear message: if you contribute to the death of Americans by peddling poison into our communities, we will work relentlessly to find you and bring you to justice,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.
“These cartel members are allegedly responsible for importing massive amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl from Mexico to the Atlanta area and across the United States, and then wiring hundreds of thousands of dollars in proceeds from distributing those drugs back to Mexico,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Richard S. Moultrie Jr. for the Northern District of Georgia.
He added, “These federal indictments, in conjunction with the imposition of OFAC sanctions, send a strong message that we will tirelessly investigate, prosecute, and defund individuals around the globe who choose to import deadly drugs into, and risk the lives of the members of, our communities.”
According to Acting U.S. Attorney Moultrie for the Northern District of Georgia, the indictments, and other information presented in court, in 2021, agents of the DEA and HSI began an investigation of LNFM cartel members importing methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl into the United States, including into the Northern District of Georgia.
As part of the investigation, agents identified Franco Tabares Martinez as a then-high-ranking member of the LNFM cartel who allegedly distributed multi-kilogram quantities of methamphetamine in the metro Atlanta area.
In addition, agents identified Franco Tabares Martinez’s sister, Guadalupe Tabares Martinez, as an Atlanta-based money launderer allegedly helping her brother and other drug traffickers by picking up bulk currency and then using her money service business, Noyola Multiservice, to transmit those drug proceeds to drug trafficking associates in Mexico.
Through the investigation, agents also identified Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga as the cartel’s co-founders and kingpins, who conspired with cartel members in Mexico and throughout the United States to import heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl across the U.S.-Mexico border for distribution in various cities and states, including Atlanta.
