Hello Wednesday! It’s February 19, and we’re tracking today’s top stories: How dirty money from fentanyl sales is flowing through China, infamous Sinaloa Cartel is deeply entrenched in American communities, Rubio says sanctions to stay for now as Trump eyes Putin summit, inside the bloody battle over the DOJ’s crown jewel, and much more…

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🎯 FEATURED STORY

How Dirty Money From Fentanyl Sales Is Flowing Through China. Chinese money brokers are teaming up with Mexican cartels, greasing the wheels of the fentanyl trade. WSJ

🔥 TOP STORIES

Infamous Sinaloa Cartel is deeply entrenched in American communities Fox

CIA using drones to surveil drug cartels, labs in Mexico UPI

Rubio Says Sanctions to Stay for Now as Trump Eyes Putin Summit Bloomberg

Inside the Bloody Battle Over the DOJ’s Crown Jewel Vanity Fair

Texas judge clears way for anti-money laundering law's enforcement Reuters

Jair Bolsonaro charged over alleged far-right coup plot to seize power in Brazil Guardian

Milei Crypto Scandal Widens With Allegations Against His Sister Bloomberg

Chokepoint 2.0: An Investigation Promises the Truth About Crypto’s Biggest Conspiracy Wired

Trump Vowed to Clean Up Washington, Then His Team Hired a Man Who Pushed a Scam the IRS Called the “Worst of the Worst” ProPublica

Taxpayer-Funded Immigration Group Works To ‘Disrupt Trump’s Deportation Machine’ Free Beacon 

Art Adviser. Friend. Thief. NYT

JPMorgan set to relive ‘huge mistake’ at Javice fraud trial Fortune

Eric Adams and Equality Under the Law Free Press

💥 RUSSIA & CHINA

China’s Private Berths Emerge as Hotspots for Russia, Iran Oil Bloomberg 

Turkey’s top refiner Tupras stops Russian crude purchases after sanctions Reuters 

American arrested in Moscow on drug smuggling charges is freed ahead of Russia-US talks CNN

The (Un)Intended Consequences of Oil Sanctions Through the Dark Shipping of Sanctioned Oil AEI

💸 CORRUPTION & FINANCIAL CRIME

Will Donald Trump Make Money Laundering Great Again? Mother Jones 

How the U.S. Government Controls Ukrainian Media Free Press 

Is Al Jazeera Providing Material Support to Hamas? RCW

SEC seeks India's help in Adani fraud probe Reuters

Ex-Guatemalan congressman gets 18 years for trafficking conspiracy AP

🔐 CRYPTO & CYBER

AI Fake May Have Scammed Firms for Millions in FTX Claims CoinDesk 

Collapsed Crypto Exchange FTX Begins Repaying Billions Decrypt

Indian Authorities Seize $190M Tied to BitConnect Scam Decrypt

DeepSeek 'shared user data' with TikTok owner ByteDance BBC

How Phished Data Turns into Apple & Google Wallets Krebs

🚚 TRAFFICKING

The New War on Drugs Foreign Affairs

Homeland Security budgets $200M for new border ad campaign Semafor 

Mexico announces major meth seizure in cartel heartland amid pressure from Trump CBS 

Judge accused of trafficking woman to UK ‘told police she had diplomatic immunity’ Independent 

Endangered spider monkeys settle in at Brookfield Zoo Chicago after rescue from wildlife trafficking CST

“A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” —John Adams

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