The 300 feet (91m) tunnel was discovered in May 1990. [168] He was a leader and founding member of Los ntrax, an armed squadron formed to protect Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada Garca, founding member of the Sinaloa Cartel. Matta Ballesteros lived part-time in Colombia, where he operated as the main intermediary between Mexican and Colombian traffickers, particularly the Medelln and Guadalajara Cartels. The PAN's Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderon launched numerous offensives against trafficking organizations, and some major leaders have been captured, including Osiel Crdenas Guilln, head of the Gulf Cartel, and Benjamin Arellano Flix, head of the Tijuana Cartel. As stated by Sedena, "El Mueco" worked as an administrator under Joaqun Guzmn Loera[166] and is believed to be responsible for the death of the activist Nepomuceno Moreno. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.
Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn - Wikipedia Flix Gallardo, following his imprisonment, bestowed the Guadalajara Cartel to his nephews in the Tijuana Cartel. The group is involved in fighting in the Nuevo Laredo region for control of the drug trafficking corridor. In the mountains of Mexico's northern . The shipments were mostly bought from the Sinaloa Cartel and at times from the Beltrn-Leyva Cartel, and it is assumed that both cartels threatened the Flores crew with violence if they bought from other rival drug organizations. As the country's criminal landscape continues to grow more fragmented, it's unclear if and how traditional cartels will be forced to adapt. It is based in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa. Investigators are seeking a Tijuana businessman who owned the parcel", "DEA Couldn't Verify Tips on Drug Tunnel", "DRUG TUNNELS ALONG THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER: HIGH COSTS, HIGH REWARDS", "Border tunnels: Complete list of those found", "Ejidatarios exigen pago justo por tierra expropiada en BC- El aeropuerto internacional de Tijuana ocupa la superficie", "DEA/ICE Uncover "Massive" Cross-Border Drug Tunnel Cement lined passage thought to link warehouses in Tijuana and Otay Mesa", "2,400-foot tunnel 'beats them all' -Builders of passage were well-funded, investigators say", "Major cross-border drug tunnel discovered south of San Diego", "Quitan tneles y droga a la mafia en BC-Decomisan 40 toneladas de marihuana", "Raid on U.S.-Mexico drug tunnel: 22 arrests, at least 12 tons of pot seized", "Hallan Otro Narcotunel Cerca del Aeropuerto", "Second Major Cross-Border Drug Tunnel Discovered South of San Diego This Month- Investigators seize 32 tons of marijuana, arrest 6 suspects", "Elaborate drug tunnel yields record pot seizure- More than 32 tons recovered in the United States and Mexico", "El tnel de Mxico a EU para transportar droga tena un elevador y rieles", "Drug lord 'El Chapo' extradited to the U.S.", "Mexican authorities busted 2 more cross-border tunnels possibly built by the Sinaloa cartel", "Sophisticated drug cartel tunnel from San Diego to Mexico found", "Woman linked to cartel kingpin 'El Chapo' arrested at San Diego border, charged in drug conspiracy", "HSBC money-laundering scandal casts a cloud over Lord Green, the trade minister", "U.S. Says Threat of Mexican Drug Cartels Approaching 'Crisis Proportions', "Treasury Designates Sinaloa Cartel Plaza Bosses", "HSBC became bank to drug cartels, pays big for lapses", "Sinaloa Cartel Bought Narco Plane Via HSBC Bank", "Forget The Drug Dealers And Iran, HSBC Is Having A Great Year", "Chicago's new Public Enemy No. On 30 August 2010, Villarreal was captured by Mexican Federal Police. [citation needed]. Territory: The west, mainly the Tierra Caliente region. [115] In this northern regional area of illicit production (See: clandestine chemistry), several important cities in its production and trade, such as Culiacn, Tijuana, Ensenada and San Luis Ro Colorado consistently see the highest amount of law enforcement seizures for fentanyl, typically in kilograms (powder) or pressed pills. A soldier near a truck torched by members of a drug gang in Mazatlan after of Ovidio Guzman's . In the ensuing years, drug tunnels moving tons of narcotics were detected in and around the Tijuana airport. El Chapo fled to Guatemala where he was arrested two weeks later.
Mexico's Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels: Competing or Collaborating? Led by notorious drug lord Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn until his capture in 2016, the cartel has developed into one of the most powerful drug trafficking cartels in the world.
Mexican Cartels: Sinaloa vs Los Zetas | Visual.ly [54][55][47] It is currently headed by Ismael Zambada Garca and is based in the city of Culiacn, Sinaloa,[56] with operations in many world regions but primarily in the Mexican states of Sinaloa, Baja California, Durango, Sonora, and Chihuahua. They were, in essence, a small group of farming families that lived in rural parts of the state. 1 nemesis, the Sinaloa Cartel, dominates the majority supply of everything from methamphetamine and heroin to the devastating synthetic opioid fentanyl . [65] Tijuana has now also began to develop its own problems with fentanyl use and addiction despite it up to this point; mostly being a U.S. and Canadian phenomenon. They have been known to frequently use American citizens as mules, many of whom have drugs stuffed in passenger vehicles or tractor-trailers. [119][16], Despite its measured and challenged presence in Mexico however, the Federation is also well known for its large and widespread international presence and its many transnational criminal operations and partners.
Witness Describes El Chapo's Torture, Murder of Rivals - Rolling Stone According to court documents, the DEA had struck agreements with the cartel's leadership that would ensure that they would be immune from extradition and prosecution in the US and would avoid disrupting the cartel's drug operations in exchange for intelligence which could be used against other drug cartels. Powerful figures in the Guadalajara organization, the two men became leaders in the Sinaloa cartel. It was around this period in the early 1990s when Guzmn gave more control of the cartel to freelance trafficker Ismael Zambada Garca (a.k.a. Since 2018, Eduardo Giralt Brun has been trying to understand the psyche of the foot soldiers in the criminal group. [51][4] It also has a notable presence in a number of other regions in Latin America, such as Colombia; as well as in cities across the U.S.[6][25] The United States Intelligence Community generally considers the Sinaloa Cartel to be the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world, making it perhaps even more influential and capable than Pablo Escobars infamous Medelln Cartel of Colombia was during its prime. Photo illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast; GettyA member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartelhis stomach straining against a black sleeveless vestis crouching over the body of a mutilated foot soldier from a rival crime group. The state of Sinaloa, the home of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and the notorious Sinaloa Cartel, is also the location of the Mazatlan Prison where the 28 inmates were killed. In contrast, El Mayo's sons have either all been arrested and jailed in the United States or seem to be lying low. Hit lists published on platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp drive people to flee, but even once they're in the U.S. they continue to be stalked.
CJNG Cartel Is Dropping Death Threats From the Skies - Vice It also appears to be most active in diversifying its export markets; rather than relying solely on U.S. drug consumption, it has made an effort to supply distributors of drugs in Latin American and European countries.[90]. [205] The raid on the ranch was met with heavy gunfire and Guzmn was able to flee. Horrifying moment Mexican drug cartel thugs pull mourners from a wake, line them up against the wall and shoot them - killing up to 17.
Cruelty of El Chapo's Sinaloa cartel knows no bounds: Beheadings by [116][117], According to the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit in Mexico City, as of 2020 the cartel has palpable territory within the Mexican regions of Sinaloa, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Durango, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Edomex, Mexico City, Jalisco, Zacatecas, Colima, Aguascalientes, Quertaro, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatn and Quintana Roo. Jess Alfredo Salazar Ramrez was arrested on 1 November 2012, in the municipality of Huixquilucan, by military personnel working with the Mexican Attorney General's office (PGR).[167]. In November 1992, El Chapo sent 40 gunmen to raid a Tijuana Cartel party in Puerto Vallarta, killing nine people. The latest family member to escape apprehension El Chapo's son, Ovidio Guzmn Lpez managed his own feat of government humiliation this week, when cartel henchmen forced a patrol of at . A U.S. jury has convicted a former Mexican presidential cabinet member of taking massive bribes to protect the drug cartels he was tasked with combating, A key prosecution witness has testified he delivered millions of dollars in payoffs destined for former Mexican public safety chief Genaro Garca Luna and saw him leave with the bags of cash. Given that El Chapo's conviction in the United States in 2019 landed him in prison for the rest of his life, El Mayo, the only remaining member from the Sinaloa Cartel's old guard, and El Chapo's sons, Joaqun Guzmn Lpez, Ovidio Guzmn Lpez, Ivn Archivaldo and Jess Alfredo, who are also known collectively as "Los Chapitos," are now left to head the general direction of the cartel's operations while it retains its horizontal structure. The companies; Corporativo y Enlace Ram, Corporativo Escomexa, and Grupo Pochteca allegedly imported key substances like 4-Anilino-N-phenethyl-4-piperidine, propionyl, chloride, and aniline from India and other Asian countries. Canadians in Mexico's northwest are being advised to take extra care amid an outbreak of violence following the arrest of Sinaloa drug cartel leader Ovidio Guzman, a son of jailed kingpin Joaquin . . [citation needed] Another source in the story was the U.S. trial of Manuel Fierro-Mendez, an ex-Juarez police captain who admitted to working for the Sinaloa Cartel. [173][174], Statements from a Mexican diplomat, which were revealed from leaked emails from the Stratfor leak in 2012, appeared to imply the belief amongst Mexican officials that US officials were assisting the Sinaloa cartel's drug smuggling efforts into the US and were protecting the cartel while attacking its rivals in an attempt to lower violence between Mexican drug cartels; this was backed up by information provided by a Mexican foreign agent, codenamed MX1. The boldness of the Mexican traffickers became evident when they murdered undercover Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Enrique Camarena in 1985. US pressure forced Mexican authorities to act, and the leaders of the cartel fled. [156] President Rodrigo Duterte further confirmed the presence of the Sinaloa Cartel in the Philippines, saying that the cartel uses the country as a trans-shipment point for drugs smuggled into the United States.
Jalisco New Generation Cartel expands to El Paso Meet the queens at the top of Mexico's most ruthless drug cartels EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) Ten days after escaping supervised release in San Diego, a convicted Sinaloa cartel enforcer and two family members have been murdered in Culiacan, Mexican newspapers report..
First drugs, then oil, now Mexican cartels turn to human trafficking [143], By 2005, the Beltrn-Leyva brothers, who were formerly aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel, had come to dominate drug trafficking across the border with Arizona. [72], In the late 1980s, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) believed the Sinaloa Cartel was the largest drug trafficking organization operating in Mexico. 1. The Sinaloa Cartel has been waging a war against the Tijuana Cartel (Arellano-Flix Organization) over the Tijuana smuggling route to the border city of San Diego, California. [175] The allegation that US officials were controlling the drug trade through Mexico was corroborated by the former spokesman of the State of Chihuahua, Guillermo Terrazas Villanueva.[176]. This new "cartel" is made up of residents of . Secrets of Mexico's Drug War", "Lieutenant in Mexican drug cartel a wanted man", "Mexico arrests 'drug lord' Edgar Valdez", "Univision, Netflix 'El Chapo' Series Sets April Premiere", "The legend of 'El Chapo': Hiding in plain sight? Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Trading sex for cosmetic surgery in Mexico's narco capital Cartel 'Cannibal Schools' Force Recruits to Eat Human Flesh On 8 January 2016, Guzman was arrested again during a raid on a home in the city of Los Mochis, in Guzman's home state of Sinaloa. Before co-founding the Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael Zambada Garca was a farmer, freelancer and small-time drug trafficker who would sell mere kilograms of marijuana and heroin before eventually becoming acquainted with Mexico's more elite trafficking circles. The CJNG emerged out of the Sinaloa Cartel in 2010 after the death of former Sinaloa Cartel capo Ignacio Coronel, alias Nacho. Since, the CJNG has expanded rapidly across the country, involving itself in a host of criminal activities, including international drug trafficking, most recently involving synthetic drugs and powerful opioids like fentanyl, which the Sinaloa Cartel is also involved in the trafficking of. [165], The Mexican Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) reported the arrest of Jess Alfredo Salazar Ramrez, alias "El Mueco" or "El Pelos", who was identified as the current lieutenant of the South Pacific Cartel in the state of Sonora. One of the first to traffic marijuana in bulk was Pedro Aviles, who later brought his friend's son, Joaqun Guzmn Loera, alias "El Chapo," into the business.
Mexican drug cartel cannibalism: Hit men eat victim's hearts - news The next time Valdez saw his boss's cruelty unleashed on enemies of the cartel, the alleged victims didn't arrive pre-tortured. [87] The Sinaloa Cartel is "a confederation of criminal organizations based on regional culture, and deep, shared blood ties that have been generated during decades of endogenous practice. An inside look at Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. El Cartel de Sinaloa es considerada como una de las organizaciones criminales dedicadas al narcotrfico ms antiguas en Mxico: dnde opera y quines son sus lderes? In particular, the report claimed the government was helping the Sinaloa Cartel to take control of the Juarez Valley area and destroy other cartels, especially the Juarez Cartel.
Mexico's new breed of drug cartel killers This would make it less likely the whole organization would be brought down all at once. [62][63][64] As of 2023[update], the Sinaloa Cartel is overall the most active drug cartel involved in smuggling illicit drugs into the United States and trafficking them throughout the country. same cartel runs Durango . [202] Guzmn had a close call in early October 2015, several days after the meeting with Penn and Kate del Castillo. [105][106][107], During the 2000s and possibly still today, it is believed that a group known as the Herrera Organization would transport multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America to Guatemala on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel. LOS ZETAS CARTEL Founded: 1999 Originally part of: Gulf Cartel Allies: Beltrn-Leyva Cartel, Jurez Cartel, Tijuana Cartel Enemies: Sinaloa Cartel, Gulf Cartel, La Familia Cartel PRESENCE Controls over 11 states, the Zetas have the largest territory in Mexico Also, Zetas have a presence in the U.S.A. & Guatemala WANTED "EL LAZCA" OR . Sinaloa Cartel. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. 17. At that point his nephews, the Arellano Flix brothers, left and further solidified the organization which came to be known as the Tijuana Cartel, while the Sinaloa Cartel continued to be run by former lieutenants Hctor Luis Palma Salazar, Ismael Zambada Garca and Joaqun Guzmn Loera. We go into the field to interview, report and investigate. The death of Camarena was the beginning of the end of the Guadalajara Cartel. Rival narcotics traffickers are believed responsible", "2 San Diego Suspects in Cardinal's Slaying Ordered Extradited", "U.S. Seizes Land at Border Near Unfinished Drug Tunnel: Narcotics: Agents believe San Diego lot was the destination of passage from Mexico. [155], The Sinaloa Cartel has operations in the Philippines as a trans-shipment point for drugs smuggled into the United States. The remaining factions established bases in various parts of Mexico.
Public Enemies: Mexican Cartels | Public Enemies The western Mexican state of Sinaloa is home to the country's most powerful and bloody drug cartel. Re: Sinaloa Cartel has Infiltrated Arizona Government- Kari Lake Victory Stolen. "The Sinaloa Cartel demonstrated a tremendous ability to mobilize rapidly and take effective control of the city," says Raul Benitez, an expert on Latin America's . In 2014 Guzmn was apprehended in Mazatln, Sinaloa, Mexico, but the following year he escaped from prison through a tunnel. According to the Washington Post, the Choneros are said to use their connections to rapidly move cocaine from the Colombian border to the port of Guayaquil. 4 Nuevo Laredo Massacres. [65] Most of the precursors required to synthesize fentanyl and its analogues come from China where it is then processed into actual fentanyl by criminal organizations in Mexico.