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The Libertad Cartel is a drug cartel that appears in the Season Eleven episode of Criminal Minds, "Internal Affairs".

Background[]

Little about the Libertad Cartel's past is revealed, other than it had an online component that emerged on the darknet sometime in or after 2013, following the downfall of the Silk Road organization at the hands of the FBI. It was led by Brian Cochran, the director of the NSA, using the alias "George Washington"; he handled the cartel's online component. The on-the-ground component was handled by a disillusioned soccer mom named Jillian Carter, who went by the alias of "Ben Franklin". The cartel had a high recruiting rate due to their promise of giving members a good share of the profits if they brought in new recruits.

Internal Affairs[]

By 2015, the DEA, led by Assistant DEA Director Bernard Graff, began investigating the cartel's activities. Jillian introduces herself to a new member named Sarah Miles as "Ben Franklin", After the talk, Jillian receives a call from Cochran, who informs her that Sarah is an undercover DEA agent. Jillian tells him that she knows what to do. Afterward, she sets Sarah up to have her abducted by Jacob DuFour, unaware that Jacob is a serial killer. The BAU is later informed of this and called in to investigate. Later, Cochran feels the pressure and orders a hit on Simon Kahn, a member and a DEA informant, which is carried out by cartel members. Later onward, Jillian is taken into custody by Rossi and JJ, who threaten to inform her husband about her activities if she doesn't answer their questions. Jillian promptly gives them Jacob's address. The BAU is able to track down Jacob and rescue Sarah. Afterward, Cochran is exposed by Hotch as the leader of the cartel and is arrested, but not before he retrieves a flash-drive that contains the access codes to the Libertad Cartel's servers, effectively shutting down the online component for good.

Known Members[]

  • Leader: Brian Cochran, a.k.a. "George Washington" (incarcerated). Portrayed by Tom Everett.
  • Lieutenant: Jillian Carter, a.k.a. "Ben Franklin" (incarcerated). Portrayed by Erin Cardillo.
  • Followers:
    • Simon Kahn (informant for the DEA; deceased). Portrayed by Eugene Young.
    • Joseph Gardeza
    • Anita Milworth
    • Chester Hardwick[1]
    • Javier Del Mundo
    • Carl Trauton
    • Odella Townsley
    • RyeCatcher
    • SpaceFool
    • GrannyPig
    • SnowGrass
    • HippieChuck
    • Dozens of unnamed others

Known Victims[]

  • Presumably killed numerous unnamed prior victims
  • December 3, 2015: Simon Kahn (member and an informant for the DEA; killed by a car bomb)

Appearances[]

References[]

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