An Indiana beauty queen has been implicated in a sweeping drug bust with connections to a Mexican cartel following an extensive investigation that spanned several years.
Glenis Zapata, 34, who was crowned Miss Indiana Latina in 2011, is alleged to have used her position as a flight attendant to move drug money from Chicago to southern states and into Mexico, according to a federal indictment.
Zapata faces two counts of money laundering related to transporting $170,000 in cash on August 7, 2019, and at least $140,000 on September 10, 2019. Her arrest is part of a more extensive operation targeting Oswaldo Espinosa, one of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) most wanted fugitives.
Espinosa, the alleged leader of a Mexico-based drug trafficking ring, has been accused of flooding U.S. streets with thousands of kilograms of cocaine. Zapata, along with her sister Ilenis Zapata and bank teller Georgina Banuelos, were among 18 suspects arrested in the takedown of Espinosa’s organization.
From 2018 to 2023, Espinosa’s criminal enterprise recruited seemingly ordinary workers, including Zapata, to facilitate its operations. The organization used warehouses and garages throughout Chicago to store cash and drugs, which were then transported to the southern U.S. and Mexico.
Espinosa led his international drug trafficking organization, the Espinosa DTO, which, while smaller than major cartels like The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and El Chapo’s Sinaloa Cartel, still played a significant role in drug trafficking activities.
Court documents detail eight drug trafficking operations from 2021 to 2023 and 15 cash transports between November 2019 and March 2022. The investigation was spearheaded by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, focusing on dismantling major drug rings in the U.S.
The Espinosa DTO is one of many cartels operating in Mexico and the U.S. A study by Science in September 2023 estimated there are about 150 Mexican cartels with around 175,000 active members. These syndicates often extend their illegal operations into the U.S., smuggling drugs and money across the border.
A DEA report from May highlighted the significant impact of Mexican cartels on the U.S., noting that The Jalisco New Generation and Sinaloa cartels operate in all 50 states. Their primary products, methamphetamine and fentanyl, have contributed to the worst drug crisis in U.S. history.
In 2023, law enforcement agencies within 150 miles of the border conducted nearly 600 bulk cash seizures valued at $18 million. The DEA has prioritized dismantling the two Mexican drug cartels primarily responsible for driving the current fentanyl epidemic in the U.S.
The involvement of a former beauty queen in such a significant drug operation underscores the pervasive reach of these cartels and the extensive efforts required to combat them.
