Washington: The U.S. Justice Department has announced a far-reaching reorganization that will dismantle one of its most prominent task forces against international drug cartels, alongside several other long-standing divisions, according to internal documents obtained by Reuters. The decision, described as the most significant structural shake-up in nearly two decades, has sparked concern among lawmakers, former officials, and legal advocates over its timing and consequences.
At the center of the restructuring is the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), a prosecutorial initiative that for decades coordinated federal agencies in dismantling large narcotics networks. The task force played a pivotal role in high-level investigations into Mexican cartels such as the Sinaloa