A former Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) official appointed as deputy chief of the Office of Financial Operations during the Obama administration - and who still holds a security clearance - was indicted on Friday on charges of agreeing to launder $12 million for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) - which was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February of this year.

Paul Campo, who oversaw the FBI's money laundering operations and resigned in January 2016 ahead of Trump's inauguration, laundered around $750,000 for the cartel by converting cash into cryptocurrency, and agreed to launder far more - totaling over $12 million, according to the indictment. 

Campo's hoome was raided by federal agents on Thursday.

Campo also provided a payment for around 220 kilos of cocaine on the understanding that the drugs had been imported into the USA, the indictment further states. 

He was able to do this after spending 25 years at the DEA, rising to a high-level position which he used to sell himself to CJNG as someone who could; 

give inside information on DEA operations

help them move drug money

help them avoid detection

and even advise on narcotics logistics

In late 2024, Campo, along with a friend Robert Sensi, began conspiring with an undercover government source they believed was with the cartel. They allegedly discussed using drones packed with C-4 explosives for CJNG operation. When the undercover agent asked what they could do with the drones, Campo allegedly said "We put explosives and we just send it over there," adding that six kilos of C-4 would be enough to blow up "the whole fucking..." [sentence trails off]

Campo also allegedly told the undercover source that, because of his past work inside DEA's intelligence and financial units, he still had "connections" within the agency and could advise CJNG on how to evade detection. According to the indictment, he portrayed himself as someone who understood DEA investigative patterns, internal targeting systems, and the vulnerabilities of U.S. financial controls.

Both Campo and Sensi allegedly assured the undercover officer that they could convert cartel cash into cryptocurrency in a way that would appear legitimate, billing themselves as specialists capable of "getting money back" for clients whose assets had been seized by law enforcement.