Cartels, Triads, and Trade-Based Money Laundering—From Pemex to Vancouver Casinos

In this episode of The Bureau Podcast, investigative journalist Sam Cooper sits down with Chris Meyer of WideFountain to trace the stunning global patterns of cartel, Triad, and Chinese Communist Party–linked networks penetrating legitimate trade structures to launder narcotics proceeds and move fentanyl and meth invisibly around the world.

Together, they examine how cartels and Chinese Triads exploit commodities, corporate shells, and international trade routes—controlling entire sectors like oil, seafood, and luxury goods—as part of a new hybrid criminal statecraft that links Mexico, Canada, China, and beyond.

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Poll shows Chinese Communist Party has higher approval rating than Trump among Canadians

A poll recently conducted by Gallup has found that the Chinese Communist Party has a higher approval rating than United States President Donald Trump among Canadians.

The vast majority of Canadians disapproved of Russian President Vladimir Putin, though the margin between him and his American counterpart was rather slim.

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Canadian shipyard slams B.C. Ferries’ contract with Chinese shipbuilder

The largest and oldest shipyard in Canada says it didn’t stand a chance in bidding against a Chinese company to build four new vessels for B.C. Ferries.

It’s the latest criticism levelled at the ferry operator following its decision to purchase the vessels from Chinese-state owned CMI Weihai Shipyards. That criticism and China’s punishing new tariffs on Canadian agriculture products have renewed calls for the contract to be cancelled.


This stinks.

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CHARLEBOIS: Why are we trading our breadbasket for a battery pack?

China’s announcement this week of a 75.8% tariff on Canadian canola seed, effective Thursday, is not an isolated policy shift — it’s the latest escalation in a trade conflict that Ottawa itself helped set in motion.

Earlier this year, on March 20, Beijing imposed 100% tariffs on Canadian canola oil, canola meal, and peas, along with an additional 25% on lobster and pork. These measures were already weighing on our agri-food exports.

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China slaps temporary 75.8% duties on Canadian canola

BEIJING/SINGAPORE — China on Tuesday announced preliminary anti-dumping duties on Canadian canola imports, a fresh escalation in the year-long trade dispute that began with Ottawa’s imposition of tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports last August.

The provisional rate will be set at 75.8 per cent, effective from Thursday, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

ICE November canola futures RSX5 fell 6.5 per cent to a four-month low after the announcement.

“This really came as a surprise and a shock,” said trader Tony Tryhuk of RBC Dominion Securities.

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Unprecedented Chinese Icebreaker Deployment Off Alaska Being Monitored By U.S.

The U.S. military and Coast Guard are monitoring the simultaneous appearance of five Chinese icebreaking vessels in the Arctic region near Alaska. That unprecedented presence represents two and a half times the number of icebreakers currently capable of being operated in the entire Arctic region by the U.S. Coast Guard. Another is scheduled to be commissioned on Sunday and plans are underway to build dozens more.

h/t DS

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Could Systemic Corruption in British Columbia Explain Botched Narco Prosecutions and PRC Ferry Deal?

Sam Cooper – In this sweeping conversation with Jason James of BNN, I discuss some of The Bureau’s biggest investigations of the summer — including the widening pattern of prosecutorial failures in major synthetic narcotics and money laundering cases in British Columbia. We spotlight the recent collapse of charges against a Chinese-state linked scientist accused of importing over 100 kilograms of precursors for MDMA production.

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Propaganda or fair warning? Taiwanese TV show imagines Chinese invasion

A Chinese fighter jet plane crashes in the waters off Taiwan’s coast, prompting Chinese warships to blockade the island for a “search and rescue”.

Taiwanese soldiers manning Dadan Island, a rocky outcrop mere kilometres from China’s coast, begin vanishing mysteriously.

Then one night, a fishing boat lands on Dadan. A signal flare arcs into the inky sky – and illuminates Chinese soldiers who have spilled out of the boat and amassed on the beach.

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The CCP Is Inside the Fed: Shocking New Evidence of Chinese Infiltration at America’s Central Bank

A decade-long infiltration campaign by the Chinese Communist Party has penetrated the Federal Reserve—coercing employees, stealing sensitive data, and compromising America’s financial core.

Most Americans have heard about Chinese spies targeting our military or hacking private companies. But there’s another front in this quiet war, one that’s gone largely unreported—and it may be the most dangerous of all: China’s long game to infiltrate and manipulate the United States Federal Reserve.

A 2022 Senate investigation offered a rare glimpse into this operation, but even that barely scratches the surface. What’s playing out behind closed doors isn’t just a few bureaucratic missteps or naïve collaborations—it’s a full-blown economic espionage campaign.

This is warfare without bullets.

h/t DS

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China Is Choking Supply of Critical Minerals to Western Defense Companies

Beijing’s tightened controls are a sign of the leverage it has over the U.S. military supply chain

China is limiting the flow of critical minerals to Western defense manufacturers, delaying production and forcing companies to scour the world for stockpiles of the minerals needed to make everything from bullets to jet fighters.

Earlier this year, as U.S.-China trade tensions soared, Beijing tightened the controls it places on the export of rare earths. While Beijing allowed them to start flowing after the Trump administration agreed in June to a series of trade concessions, China has maintained a lock on critical minerals for defense purposes. China supplies around 90% of the world’s rare earths and dominates the production of many other critical minerals.

As a result, one drone-parts manufacturer that supplies the U.S. military was forced to delay orders by up to two months while it searched for a non-Chinese source of magnets, which are assembled from rare earths.

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Canada Renews Funding for China Student Exchange Program That Requires Allegiance to Communist Regime

Canada has renewed funding for a bilateral scholarship program that requires Chinese candidates applying to study in Canada to show allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and uphold the party’s “socialist system.”

David Morrison, deputy minister of foreign affairs at Global Affairs Canada, on July 30 signed an agreement with his Chinese counterpart, executive vice minister Ma Zhaoxu, to renew the Canada-China Scholars’ Exchange Program. Through the program, Ottawa funds Chinese applicants to conduct research at Canadian universities as visiting scholars for 4–12 months.

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Why more fentanyl production could be moving to Canada

Fentanyl Precursor Chemical 4-Piperidone

Although there’s no evidence of any significant flows of fentanyl into the United States from Canada, an American authority on “criminal supply chains” warned Friday that that could change abruptly if U.S. efforts to better seal its border with Mexico are successful.

Jonathan Caulkins, who researches supply chains that support illegal markets for the Manhattan Institute think tank and Carnegie Mellon University. said the drug cartels that control the North American fentanyl trade may well shift large chunks of their operations to Canada if the northern border becomes the path of least resistance.

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Freeland tells MPs she was ‘dismayed’ by BC Ferries’ Chinese ship deal

Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland told MPs Friday she was “dismayed” by BC Ferries’ decision to purchase four new electric-diesel ships from a Chinese shipbuilder using a $1 billion federal loan — but did not call for the loan’s cancellation.

The House of Commons transport committee launched a study of the Canada Infrastructure Bank loan on Friday.

At the meeting, committee members voted in favour of a motion calling on the Canada Infrastructure Bank, BC Ferries and the federal government to show the committee several documents — including the complete bond purchase agreement and records of all options for the acquisition of the new vessels — by the end of August.

Don’t be surprised if Canadians never find out someone was getting their palms greased.

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Behind the Push to Deepen Canada–China Ties Amid US Trade Tensions

Some premiers expressed support for closer trade ties with China last week as a way to reduce Canada’s reliance on the United States amid rising tariff tensions. There have also been recent newspaper commentaries echoing Beijing’s position that Canada should forge a closer relationship with China.

Some observers say there appears to be forces pushing Canadian politicians toward China amid tensions with Washington. Catherine Swift, president of the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses Canada, says profit may be a driving factor as corporations back closer ties with Beijing for access to economic opportunities and lower costs.

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Preparing for War, Xi Jinping Is Taking Back China’s Farms And Trying to Destroy America’s

A Chinese state-owned ship-building company has converted a bulk carrier into a floating farm that will produce 2,800 tons of fish a year.

The 225-meter-long Zhe Dai Yu Yang 60001 is part of a “marine bread basket” project that “aims to boost the nation’s food security by repurposing old vessels for use in aquaculture.” Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping is mobilizing state entities, including, in this case, China State Shipbuilding Corp., in his all-of-society effort to achieve food security.

Why should anyone outside China care about Xi’s obsessive drive? Because this effort is another signal that he is preparing to attack.

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