In some absolutely jaw-dropping and quite infuriating news out of New York City, former DEA chief financial director under Obama, Paul Campo, a high-profile official who resigned in 2016 rather than work with President Trump to keep America safe, was caught working for one of the most notoriously cruel and violent Mexican cartels.
As background, Campo was a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent for nearly 25 years, with that employment culminating in his being made the deputy chief of the DEA’s Office of Financial Operations under the Obama Administration. After retiring, he apparently turned to working for the cartel.
Such is what the DOJ announced in a stunning Friday, December 5, press release, saying, “Paul Campo, Former DEA Official, and Friend, Robert Sensi, Agreed to Launder Approximately $12,000,000 and Participate in Narcotics Trafficking for the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, a/k/a Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion or CJNG”.
Continuing, the press release provided a brief description of what charges he faces, saying, “United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), Terrance C. Cole, announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging PAUL CAMPO and ROBERT SENSI with narcoterrorism, terrorism, narcotics distribution, and money laundering charges. CAMPO and SENSI were arrested yesterday afternoon in New York.”
Then, somewhat later on, the press release described how Campo was caught and what scheme he ended up being involved in. Beginning, that section provided, “In late 2024, ROBERT SENSI began meeting with a confidential source working at the direction of law enforcement (“CS-1”), who was posing as a member of CJNG. SENSI told CS-1 that he had a friend who used to be in charge of DEA’s financial operations who could assist CJNG by laundering narcotics proceeds and providing CS-1 with sensitive DEA information about sources and investigations.”
Adding to that, the press release noted that the former Obama official not only agreed to launder money for the cartel, but to look into providing military equipment to it. The release said, on that point, “After these initial meetings, CAMPO and SENSI together met with CS-1 on several occasions. During these conversations, CAMPO and SENSI agreed to launder money for CS‑1 by, among other things, converting cash into cryptocurrency and making investments in real estate. CAMPO and SENSI further advised CS-1 about fentanyl production and explored procuring commercial drones and military-grade weapons and equipment for CJNG, including AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, M4 carbines, M16 rifles, grenade launchers, and rocket-propelled grenades.”
Further, the press release revealed that the former Obama official highlighted his longtime role in the government to make the case for his employment by the cartel, saying, “As part of these discussions, CAMPO and SENSI often boasted about and relied heavily on CAMPO’s prior federal law enforcement experience and expertise regarding financial investigations and drug cartels.”
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Then, after noting that the two also agreed to try and provide weaponized drones to the notoriously violent cartel, the statement described more of the money laundering scheme, saying, “As part of the scheme, CAMPO and SENSI agreed to launder approximately $12,000,000 of CJNG narcotics proceeds; laundered approximately $750,000 by converting cash into cryptocurrency; and provided a payment for approximately 220 kilograms of cocaine on the understanding that the payment would trigger the distribution and sale of the narcotics worth approximately $5,000,000, for which CAMPO and SENSI would (i) receive directly a portion of the narcotics proceeds as profit; and (ii) receive a further commission upon the laundering of the balance of the narcotics proceeds.”
Further, describing the charges they face in more detail, and what the consequences of those charges are, the press release noted, “CAMPO, 61, of Oakton, Virginia, and SENSI, 75, of Boca Raton, Florida, are each charged with one count of conspiring to commit narcoterrorism, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of conspiring to provide material support and resources to CJNG, a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.”
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, commenting on how horrific the situation is and how terrible the cartel that Campo agreed to work for is known to be, said, “As alleged, Paul Campo and Robert Sensi conspired to assist CJNG, one of the most notorious Mexican cartels that is responsible for countless deaths through violence and drug trafficking in the United States and Mexico.”
Adding to that, the US attorney added, “As part of that support, the defendants laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars they believed to be CJNG drug proceeds, agreed to launder millions more, and even agreed to use their financial expertise to facilitate cocaine trafficking right here in New York City. By participating in this scheme, Campo betrayed the mission he was entrusted with pursuing for his 25-year career with the DEA. CJNG is a violent and corrupting criminal enterprise that New Yorkers want broken.”
Watch President Trump address cartels in his State of the Union address here: