By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2026-09-12 16:15:35 | Updated at 2026-09-12 17:42:38
1 hour ago
An American correctional officer moonlighting as a member of a powerful faction of the Sinaloa Cartel was busted in Mexico with more than 5,400 rounds of ammunition, Mexican authorities said.
The suspect, who was identified as Yanet ‘N’, was stopped by security forces who were conducting surveillance in the municipality of San Luis Rio Colorado near a bridge that connects the state of Sonora with Arizona.
The Mexican government said that Yanet ‘N’ served as the logistics operator for the cartel faction and the ammunition cartridges were found under the seat of her Jeep Wrangler.
“These actions impair the operational capacity of criminal groups and prevent weapons and ammunition from being used to incite violence,” Mexico’s Security Cabinet said in a statement.
The young woman turned 22 years old Saturday, according to one of her social media account.
Mexican newspaper Excelsior reported that the woman was carrying an identification card from the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry identifying her as Yanet Dowden and as a “Level II correctional officer.” Several firearms, including an AK-47, were recovered during the search, the outlet reported.
Excelsior learned that she is linked to “Los Mayos,” one of the two cartel factions that is under the command of Ismael “Mayito Flaco” Zambada Zicairos, the son of Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, who co-founded the transnational drug trafficking organization with Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán.
The other half of the drug cartel, known as “Los Chapitos,” is operated by El Chapo’s two sons, Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar and Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar.
The Post reached out to Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office for comment.
Mexico has strict gun laws and only one store where civilians can legally purchase firearms. Mexican authorities have long argued that large numbers of weapons and ammunition are illegally smuggled into the country from the US.
The Mexican government filed a $10 billion lawsuit against US-based gun companies in 2021 and claimed that at least 70% of the firearms that were trafficked into the country came from the US.
The government accused the gun manufacturers of being aware of weapons traffickers who purchased guns for the sole purpose of smuggling them across the southern border and making sizeable profits.
But the US Supreme Court blocked the suit from proceeding in June 2025, ruling that US law granted protection to gun companies from being liable when their firearms were utilized to commit crimes.
In her opinion, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that the Mexican government case lacked a valid argument that the gunmakers had assisted in trafficking guns into the country.
“It does not pinpoint, as most aiding-and-abetting claims do, any specific criminal transactions that the defendants (allegedly) assisted,” Kagan wrote.
The Post reached out to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry for comment.
