The Drug Enforcement Administration has arrested 1,985 people in Texas and across the country, part of what the agency called a "surgical strike" to take down a network used by a besieged Mexican drug cartel believed to supply the vast majority of the methamphetamine imported into the United States.

At least 44 people in Austin were charged with alleged roles in smuggling drugs and cash on behalf of La Familia Michoacana cartel, the DEA announced Thursday.

"Through their violent drug-trafficking activities, including their hallmark of supplying most of the methamphetamine imported into the United States, La Familia is responsible for recklessly and violently destroying countless lives on both sides of the border," DEA chief Michele Leonhart said Thursday in Washington.

Joint efforts

Other agencies involved in leading the sweep included the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

"The strong joint efforts with our Mexican and U.S. law enforcement partners are crippling this brutal organization by capturing its leaders, strangling its distribution networks and relentlessly pursuing its members and those who facilitate them," she continued.

As part of a 20-month investigation known as Project Delirium, which included 11 states and Washington, D.C., authorities confiscated 2,773 pounds of methamphetamine, 2,722 kilograms of cocaine, 1005 pounds of heroin and 14,818 pounds of marijuana, according to the DEA.

Approximately $62 million in cash also was seized.

La Familia Michoacana draws its name from the Mexican state where it has had a fervent following.

Supporters follow a quasi-religious code of ethics, including taking from the rich to give to the poor and being prohibited from using drugs.

"According to intelligence, members of La Familia must complete a 3-6 month training camp in Michoacán, conducted by ex-members of the Colombian or Mexican Special Forces," notes a DEA report on the cartel.

"The (cartel) uses equipment, weapons, and uniforms similar to those of the Federal Investigations Agency, and therefore operates without being detected in cities and on highways," it continues.

Operation lauded

La Familia is fighting to hold on after suffering several body blows, including the killing last year of one of its founders by the Mexican government.

Mexico's Public Security boss, Genaro Garcia Luna, said Thursday his nation has seen increased results in its fight against the cartels in part to support from the DEA.

"Due to increased information sharing and collaboration with the DEA, these efforts have resulted in successful and significant arrests and seizures of drugs and money," he said.

U.S. Deputy Attorney General James Cole lauded the operation.

"The arrests and seizures we are announcing today have stripped La Familia of its manpower, its deadly product and its profit," Cole said, "and helped make communities, larger and small, safer."

Arrests were made from California to Washington, D.C., but none occurred in Houston, which is considered part of a central network used by some of La Familia's biggest rivals.

In Laredo, authorities announced the arrests of six people, including the head of an enterprise that smuggled drugs and cash, but it was unclear if the organization had any tie to La Familia.

dane.schiller@chron.com