La Nueva Familia Michoacana Organization
{{Short description|Mexican criminal organization}}
{{Infobox criminal organization
| name = La Nueva Familia Michoacana
| founded = 2011
| founded by = Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga, José Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga
| founding location = Michoacan, Mexico
| years active = 2011—present
| territory = Mexico: Michoacan, Edomex, Morelos, Jalisco, Guerrero
United States: Texas, New Mexico, North Carolina, Georgia, Washington, D.C.
Europe: Belgium {{citation_needed|date=March 2024}}
Asia: China {{citation_needed|date=March 2024}}
| ethnicity = {{{Mexicans|Mexican}}}
| activities = Drug trafficking, Murder, Extortion, Kidnapping, Blackmailing, Robbery, Illegal mining, Torture
| allies = Los Viagras (Armed wing)
Guardia Michoacana (Armed wing)
Los Blancos De La Troya (Enforcer wing)
Cárteles Unidos
La Familia Michoacana
Cartel Del Camaleón
Los Reyes
Cartel De La Virgen
Los Revueltas
Los Tenas
Los Pantanos
Sinaloa Cartel
Mexican Mafia
Bloods
Crips
| rivals = Jalisco New Generation Cartel
Knights Templar Cartel
La Unión Tepito
}}
La Nueva Familia Michoacana (LNFM; {{langx|en|The New Michoacan Family}}) or La Nueva Familia ({{Langx|en|The New Family}}), is a criminal organization & U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization that specializes in illegal drug trafficking, illegal mining, and extortion. It is currently headed by Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga, alias ”El Pez”, and his brother, Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, alias ”El Fresa”. The Organization formed as a splinter group in 2011 after the original La Familia Michoacana lost their power in 2010 with the formation of the Knights Templar Cartel and with Nazario Moreno's suspected death (he was not proven dead until 2014 with a DNA test).{{Cite book |last=Grillo |first=Ioan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QWlBCwAAQBAJ |title=Gangster Warlords: Drug Dollars, Killing Fields, and the New Politics of Latin America |date=2016-02-11 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4088-4603-2 |language=en}} The Organization mainly dedicated to drug trafficking and battling the CJNG criminal organization out of Tierra Caliente region in Michoacán and Guerrero. According to The United States Department of the Treasury, the organization is primarily involved in the distribution of cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine to the United States, but it’s also involved in growing marijuana and poppies. Many of its leaders have been arrested for threatening and blackmailing people on social media. La Nueva Familia Michoacana operates in at least 35 municipalities in the southern areas of Mexico.{{cite web|url=http://www.insightcrime.org/mexico-organized-crime-news/familia-michoacana-mexico-profile/html.|title=Familia Michoacana - InSight Crime|website=www.insightcrime.org}}{{Dead link|date=May 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Social media threats
In 2019, a leader from the cell called El Zarco threatened El Mencho by telling him they were going to kill his hitmen by the Balsas River. The threat went viral that a few weeks later CJNG members threatened to assassinate El Zarco.* [http://www.laopinion.com/2019/08/30/video-la-familia-michoacana-y-el-zarco-mandan-temible-mensaje-al-cjng-y-el-mencho/.html]
{{Dead link|date=December 2022 |fix-attempted=yes |url=}}
Sanctions
In November 2022, the United States Department of the Treasury sanctioned La Nueva Familia Michoana and its alleged leaders Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga pursuant to {{Executive Order|14059}}. The Treasury alleges the group is implicated in a mix of criminal and drug trafficking activities, including the cultivation of opium poppy and U.S. distribution of heroin and, in an emerging trend, “rainbow” fentanyl (pills and powders whose bright colors, shapes, and sizes are marketed to young users).{{Cite web |title=Treasury Sanctions Illicit Fentanyl-Trafficking La Nueva Familia Michoacana and its Leaders |url=https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy1116 |access-date=2023-01-21 |website=U.S. Department of the Treasury |language=en}}{{Cite journal |last1=Rosen |first1=Liana |last2=Clare Ribando |first2=Seelke |date=2022-12-09 |title=Trends in Mexican Opioid Trafficking and Implications for U.S.-Mexico Security Cooperation |url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=IF10400 |journal=In Focus |publisher=Congressional Research Service |issue=IF10400 - Version: 10}}
In 2024, the DEA were reportedly seeking Rodolfo “Don Jose” Maldonado-Bustos and Euclides “El Quilles” Camacho-Goicochea.{{cite web | url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/mexico-based-drug-cartel-leaders-indicted-and-sanctioned | title=Office of Public Affairs | Mexico-Based Drug Cartel Leaders Indicted and Sanctioned | United States Department of Justice | date=20 June 2024 }}
The group was designated as a terrorist organization by the United States Department of State in February 2025. {{cite web | url=https://apnews.com/article/gangs-cartels-sinaloa-aragua-trump-terrorist-organizations-b223f4eb513105fb8d965f80a6cecfeb | title=A look at the 8 Latin American crime groups designated as terrorist organizations by the US | date=19 Feb 2025}}