Today, the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacin CJNG), is the Sinaloa Cartel's primary enemy. They also announced the seizure of more than $59million in cash and numerous vehicles, planes, and boats. Drug busts in DC area, 7 states linked to Sinaloa cartel; drugs, guns, $5.4 million seized. [citation needed] The organization has also been known to utilize narcosubmarines, boats, ships, trains, helicopters, and cargo planes for their smuggling operations. Although he was arrested and sentenced to more than 20 years in prison in 1993, he continued to be a key figure in the cartel, and, according to various reports, he gained full control of the organization in 1995. They were, in essence, a small group of farming families that lived in rural parts of the state. The Sinaloa organization also now participates directly in coca cultivation and production in Colombia. [25] Nearly 85% of Colombia's coca is grown within just five departments in the nation. The country's overcrowded prison system and the COVID-19 pandemic has apparently dominated much of the government's attention and focus recently, thus allowing the gang to more easily grow and consolidate power. [69], As of 2023, the Sinaloa Cartel remains Mexico's most dominant drug cartel. ", "La segunda fuga de Joaqun 'el Chapo' Guzmn ya tiene dos narcocorridos", "De Lupillo Rivera a Regulo los corridos sobre la fuga de 'El Chapo', "12 narcos y sus corridos (Canciones de sangre, violencia y crimen)", "11 narcocorridos que inspir Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn", "The Game y Skrillex acaban de lanzar una cancin dedicada al Chapo", "No slo corridos, 'El Chapo' tambin tiene su hip hop", "Kate del Castillo: Meet the Star Playing a Big Part in El Chapo's Real-Life Drama", "El Chapo Guzman: Extradition to US could take 'at least year', "El Chapo Guzmn, 'World's Most Powerful Drug Trafficker,' Receives Special Request From Mexican Actress, Kate Del Castillo", Sean Penn Met With El Chapo for Interview in His Hide-Out, "The Manhunt for the Drug Kingpin El Chapo", "Sean Penn interview helped locate drug lord", "Cellphone Signals Suggest 'El Chapo' Hid in Mexican Mountains: Sources", "Ben Warheit's McRib Monologue Won Late Night This Week", Tourists evacuated following shootout between Mexican army and drug hitmen, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman-Loera on America's Most Wanted, Jose EspinozaThe "Leonardo da Vinci" of the Sinaloa Cartel, Why Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel Loves Selling Drugs in Chicago, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sinaloa_Cartel&oldid=1142329266, The Sinaloa Cartel has in both recent and past times; most often been the primary, The organization has become the subject of several documentaries, such as. [151][152][153], In 2013, the Chicago Crime Commission named Joaquin "Chapo" Guzmn "Public Enemy No. Operatives of the cartel have reportedly claimed that their intention was the opposite of that and it was actually meant to distinguish them from real pharmaceuticals. It was established in Mexico during the late 1980s as one of a various number of subordinate "plazas . Calls for his extradition to the United States started just hours after his arrest. This week, InSight Crimes Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. Sinaloa cartel One of the oldest and largest of the Mexican cartels. It's cheap to produce since it is entirely synthetic and can be clandestinely manufactured since unlike marijuana, opium/heroin and coca; it requires no farming, cultivation, sunlight or irrigation. Now, El Chapo's wife is in U.S. custody . As shown by image 3 Drug Trafficking Tunnel, in 2006 the unpermitted development allowed the building of a 2,400-foot (730-meter) drug "super tunnel" originating from the former Ejido Tampico and adjacent to the Tijuana airport's runway. [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. It was established in Mexico during the late 1980s as one of a various number of subordinate plazas" operating under a predecessor organization known as the Guadalajara Cartel. [69], Although the Sinaloa Cartel has traditionally grown and cultivated marijuana locally in the original "Golden Triangle" region of Mexico, the cartel as well as other Mexican cartels have, in recent times, set up large marijuana growing operations in the remote forests and deserts of California where they reportedly have stolen millions of gallons of water for these illegal grows. [155], The Sinaloa Cartel has operations in the Philippines as a trans-shipment point for drugs smuggled into the United States. During the leadership of Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn and Ismael Zambada Garca, the multi-billion dollar international drug trafficking empire supposedly controlled at least 91% of the world's heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana trade, regularly exporting multi-ton shipments of narcotics to the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. Although likely not as prolific in methamphetamine cooking as the CJNG, the Sinaloa Cartel still has major methamphetamine operations throughout North America, which includes Mexico itself due to the now ubiquitous use of meth in the country. The capture of the Sinaloa Cartel's "El Chapo" Guzmn ignited a fight over the trial's location. The Sinaloa Cartel used to be known as La Alianza de Sangre ("Blood Alliance"). [125][126] It was five times longer than the Agua Prieta-Douglas tunnel and became the first of a series of drug "super tunnels" in Otay Mesa originating in and around the Tijuana airport through the former Ejido Tampico. border. [15] The Nuevo Laredo region is an important drug trafficking corridor into Laredo, Texas, where as much as 40% of all Mexican exports pass through into the U.S. An inside look at Mexico's Sinaloa cartel. The western Mexican state of Sinaloa is home to the country's most powerful and bloody drug cartel. The article was picked up by, Our coverage of the arrest of Chapitos co-founder Ovidio Guzmn Lpez in Mexico has received worldwide attention.In the UK, outlets includingThe IndependentandBBC. [38][39][76][77][78] The Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels have reportedly also moved their rivalry to at least five different departments in Colombia according to the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo. Enemies: Gulf Cartel, Sinaloa Cartel. The church hierarchy originally believed Posadas was targeted as revenge for his strong stance against the drug trade. Another close associate, Javier Torres Flix, was arrested and extradited to the U.S. in December 2006. As the country's criminal landscape continues to grow more fragmented, it's unclear if and how traditional cartels will be forced to adapt. He claimed that the Sinaloa Cartel influenced the Mexican government and military to gain control of the region. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. In 1989, the Sinaloa Cartel dug its first drug tunnel between a house in Agua Prieta, Sonora to a warehouse located in Douglas, Arizona. (Sinaloa Cartel) The origin story: Since its inception in the 1980s, the Sinaloa cartel has undoubtedly been the most prominent and fearsome criminal organization in Mexico. The money it generates has left its imprint on the relationships between narcos and young women . Frozen, "Mexican drug lord killed in raid, officials say", "El Chapo, Escaped Mexican Drug Lord, Is Recaptured in Gun Battle", "The Drug Situation in the Chicago Field Division", "U.S. charges 10 accused Mexican drug cartel leaders", "Colombia Survey 2014: UNODC study shows significant increase in coca leaf production in high density areas", "Colombia Is Growing Record Amounts Of Coca, The Key Ingredient In Cocaine", "Cocaine production in Colombia is at historic highs", "Colombia's Cocaine Keeps On Reaching New Heights: UNODC Report", "60 Charged in San Diego-based Sinaloa Cartel Meth Investigation", "Major multi-million meth bust alarms Atlanta DEA agents", "Drug cartels stealing millions of gallons of water for marijuana grows in Antelope Valley: Officials", "Nearly 7 Tons of Marijuana Seized from Suspected Cartel Grow Sites in Monterey County, California", "LA County's Largest Drug Bust in History Involves Suspected Mexican Cartels", "Made in China: China's Role in Transnational Crime and Illicit Financial Flows", "Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG Share Fentanyl Chemical Suppliers", "Latest news from around the world | The Guardian", "Consumption Of Fentanyl, The Drug That Is 50 Times Strronger Than Heroin, Grows In Northern Mexico", "Mexico's precursor chemical controls: Emergence of less potent types of methamphetamine in the United States", "Army Secures 1.2 Tons Of Methamphetamine In Cosal, Sinaloa", "Mapa de crteles del narco en Mxico segn Inteligencia Financiera", "Ivan Archivaldo and Alfredo Guzmn's Top Lieutenants", "Chapo's rise: From poor, abused to cartel kingpin", "Annals of Excavation: Underworld- How the Sinaloa Cartel digs its tunnels", "Mexico Cardinal Slain; Caught in Gun Battle: Violence: 6 others are killed at Guadalajara airport. El Chapo maintained some control from prison, passing messages through his lawyers. 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. The latter due to the coast of Mexico from which it originated. Revealed: how Mexico's Sinaloa cartel has created a global network to rule the fentanyl trade. CJNG, which routinely faces off with its No. ", "Mexico's Sinaloa gang grows empire, defies crackdown", "Unraveling Mexico's Sinaloa drug cartel", "Inside Mexico's Most Powerful Drug Cartel", "Where 7 Mexican drug cartels are active within the U.S.", "Mexican traffickers making New York a hub for lucrative and deadly fentanyl", "Inside the Sinaloa Cartel's Fentanyl Smuggling Operations", "Drug Users Are Nostalgic for 'Old-School Heroin' as Fentanyl Takes Over", "Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller: Season 1 Episode 2: Fentanyl", "Cartels Take to Social Media to Peddle Deadly Fentanyl Pills, DEA Says", "Fentanyl Overdose Deaths Climb in Washington, and Cartels Are to Blame, Feds Say", "San Diego: The epicenter of fentanyl trafficking", "The DEA says drug cartels are putting fentanyl in candy to sell to kids. Brutal but Futile: Venezuela's Anti-Gang 'Mega-Operations', MS13s Mexico Program Key to El Salvador Gang Negotiations, Peace Leaders in Putumayo, Colombia Bet Their Lives on Coca Crop Substitution, Pablo Escobar and the Real Criminal Story of the Cocaine Bear, Haitis Rural Gangs Threaten Food Production as Hunger Crisis Looms, Venezuelan Migrants Remain Easy Prey for Organized Crime, China Producers Cashing in on Online Sale of Fentanyl Precursors, In the Riviera Maya, Cartel Extortion Schemes Know No Limits, Failed Kingpin Strategy at Heart of New US-Mexico Security Plans, InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press, World Looks to InSight Crime for Mexico Expertise. The reasons for "disappearing" cartel enemies varies. [93], In May 2009, the U.S. National Public Radio (NPR) aired multiple reports alleging that the Mexican federal police and military were working in collusion with 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 . Mexico's Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels: Competing or Collaborating? The remaining factions established bases in various parts of Mexico. That state was long involved in the illegal drug industry as home to marijuana and poppy crops, and it was also the birthplace of numerous drug traffickers, including Hctor Luis Palma Salazar and Joaqun Guzmn Loera, who was known as El Chapo (Shorty). Mexican drug cartel leader Ovidio Guzman, a son of jailed kingpin Joaquin " El Chapo " Guzman, was arrested, unleashing a violent backlash by gang gunmen on Thursday that shut the airport in . El Cholo formed his own gang, the "Nueva Plaza Cartel," financially supported by the Sinaloa Cartel, one of CJNG's biggest enemies. [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. The Sinaloa Cartel seems to have taken its cue from Colombia's Cali Cartel by establishing strong connections to Mexico's political and economic elite. To accomplish this task he used every means available: Boeing 747 cargo aircraft, narco submarines, container ships, go-fast boats, fishing vessels, buses, rail cars, tractor-trailers and automobiles. Statement of Paul E. Knierim Deputy Chief of Operations, Office of Global Enforcement Drug Enforcement Administration Before the Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration Since 2011 they have evolved to become one of the Ecuador's fiercest prison gangs due to the leader being incarcerated for nearly 8 years. The group is involved in fighting in the Nuevo Laredo region for control of the drug trafficking corridor. January 12, 2022 December 24, 2021 by americanpost. ', "Why the Jalisco Cartel Does Not Dominate Mexico's Criminal Landscape", "Mexico nabs son of drug lord 'El Chapo' before Biden visit", "After months of "internal war", el Mayo Zambada lost control of the Sinaloa Cartel to the children of el Chapo", "Rumors Allege That CDS Has Called a Truce in the Chapitos vs Mayo War", "Dismembered Torso Placed Near Jalisco - Colima Border", "Dispute Breaks Out For Control Of Maritime Traffic In Guatemala And Peru Between CDS And CJNG", "Jalisco Cartel Sets Off Alarm Bells Along Mexico-Guatemala Border", "CJNG Fighting CDS for Teocaltiche, Jalisco", "Reconceptualizing the Illegal Narcotics Trade and Its Effect on the Colombian and the Mexican State", "United States of America v. Felipe de Jesus Corona Verbera", "Sinaloa Cartel Succession in Mexico: More Political Intrigue than Violence", "Mexican Drug Cartels: Government Progress and Growing Violence", Major Mexican Drug Trafficker's Assets in U.S. [161][162], In March 2009, the Mexican Government announced the deployment of 1,000 Federal Police officers and 5,000 Mexican Army soldiers to restore order in Ciudad Jurez, which has suffered the highest number of casualties in the country. Cartel operatives say it's 'actually the opposite. . A drug cartel in Mexico is forcing members into cannibalism after videos online have emerged which show gang members eating body parts of enemies. Shannon, Elaine (1988). [69] Although the DEA originally claimed that these multicolored pills and powders were designed specifically to be marketed to children, these claims have been denied by operatives of the cartel according to Business Insider and other sources. "This is a city filled with drug lords," a Mexican journalist said. A son of Sinaloa cartel kingpin Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada pleaded guilty in San Diego federal court Friday to being a leader in the global drug . [154] The focal point for Sinaloa in Chicago is the city's "Little Village" neighborhood. On 11 July 2015 "El Chapo" escaped from a maximum security prison, which is his second successful jailbreak from a maximum security facility in 14 years. Members of the Zetas being presented in Mexico City by the navy - they were alleged of being involved in the San Fernando massacre Credit: Associated Press. The Sinaloa Cartel has since created new alliances with former enemies in theGulf Carteland theFamilia Michoacanaand appears to have negotiated a pact with what remains of theTijuana Cartel. sfn error: no target: CITEREFEdmonds-PoliShirk2009 (, GMA News: "Mexican drug cartel penetrates PHL; PDEA raids lab in Lipa City" 26 December 2013, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Maritime drug trafficking in Latin America, "5 Members of a Major Mexican Drug-Trafficking Organization Indicted in Operation Money Train", "Tracking the Sinaloa Federation's International Presence", "Venezuela apunta al Crtel de Sinaloa: captur a miembros de la organizacin criminal en enfrentamiento fronterizo", "2015 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary", "Heroin bringing violent Mexican drug cartels to Western", "Charges: Cartel used Minnesota house for drugs, torture", "New indictment ups the ante for WNY drug network linked to Mexican cartel", "Ovidio Guzman, son of El Chapo and alleged major fentanyl trafficker, arrested in Mexico", "100,000-foot soldiers in Mexican cartels", "A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border", "Army Destroys Massive Sinaloa Cartel Synthetic Drug Lab Outside Culiacn", "Zacatecas: Grupo Flechas Burns Alive A Jalisco Operative", "Grupo Flechas del Mayo Zambada asegura que fueron 43 las bajas del CJNG tras batalla", "Quines son los Cabrera: el brazo armado del "Mayo" Zambada que pelea por Durango y Zacatecas contra el CJNG", "Quin es el "Ruso", el sicario del "Mayo" Zambada que est en la mira de los "Chapitos", "Narco Funeral Draws Attention to Los Salazar in Mexico", "Quines son Los Salazar, los lugartenientes del Crtel de Sinaloa detrs de la trgica muerte de un nio en Sonora", "Mexican Narcotrafficking Cartels Expand their Control in Colombia", "International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2008", "Six Colombian Nationals Plead Guilty To Conspiracy To Use "Narco-Submarines" To Smuggle Over 19,000 Kilograms Of Cocaine To The Sinaloa Cartel", "CDS El Mayo Troops Show Support for El Rodo's Independent Cartel in Nuevo Len", "Journalist Peter R. de Vries shot in the head. [79] He also pioneered the use of aircraft to smuggle drugs to the United States. 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. Omissions? In 1999, the Tijuana airport was privatized and became part of a 12 airport network known as Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacfico (Pacific Airport Group). [92], Guzmn was captured on 22 February 2014, overnight by American and Mexican authorities. [57][58] It is also frequently referred to by other non-government based media sources as one of the most powerful and feared criminal organizations in the world and indisputably the most powerful in Mexico. However, the days of big cartels in Mexico may be numbered. The Gangster Disciples are one of the local gangs most actively working with the cartel. Please support our mission investigating organized crime. It was a blow to Mexicos efforts to fight drugs and further underscored the power of both the Sinaloa cartel and Guzmn. Chapo was famously recaptured, then escaped from prison, then recaptured in Mexico once again in 2016, only adding to his criminal legend. [69] The cartel has also been known to use blind mules, particularly for the smuggling and transporting of fentanyl into and throughout the U.S., oftentimes with the mules not even knowing what they're trafficking. [159][160] El Buda served as the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel's drug trafficking activities and shipments from Central and South America. [115] This has also subsequently led to the border city of San Diego reportedly becoming the epicenter for fentanyl trafficking in America due to its proximity to the border, according to local news reports. However, recently smaller gangs have begun to target the Choneros and the organization has also fallen subject to the phenomenon of infighting within the gang and its derivative groups. "[88] When Hctor Luis Palma Salazar was arrested on 23 June 1995, by the Mexican Army, his partner Joaqun Guzmn Loera took leadership of the cartel. [124] On 31 May 1993, Mexican federal agents searching for the gunmen found a partially completed 1,500 feet (460m) tunnel adjacent to the Tijuana airport and crossing under the U.S.-Mexico border to a warehouse on Otay Mesa in San Diego. So strong is the perception that the PAN favors the Sinaloa Cartel that Mexican justice officials issued a press release in 2010 denying it, while the Calderon government produced avideoin 2011 with the same intention. [139] As with prior "super tunnels", it was equipped with an elevator and electric rail cars to efficiently ferry narcotics across the U.S.-Mexico border. We go into the field to interview, report and investigate. "El Chino ntrax," was among three found Saturday inside a BMW X-5 sports utility vehicle registered to his sister, El Sol de . He is linked to various homicides, among them the lawyer Rubn Alejandro Cepeda Leos, who was assassinated on 20 December 2011, in the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua. The cartels have pressured reporters to send messages and wage a media war. Some sources indicate the escape of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in July, for example, showed how the Jalisco Cartel - New . Mayo's traditional major distribution hubs were allegedly in Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Denver. The drug operation allegedly brought 1.5 to 2 tons of cocaine every month to Chicago from Mexico and shipped millions of dollars south of the border. This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in anEl Pas podcaston the progress of Colombias nascent peace process. They established the patterns that we see repeated today: movement of bulk shipments of cocaine via airplane and boat to Central America and Mexico, then by land routes into the United States. [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. This time it was all Chapo . said the Sinaloa Cartel at one time slaughtered more . The cartel has also recently increased their migrant smuggling operations in border regions. The report also alleged, with support from an anthropologist who studies drug trafficking, that data on the low arrest rate of Sinaloa Cartel members (compared to other groups) was evidence of favoritism on the part of the authorities. The Sinaloa cartel was once led by the notorious drug boss known as Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn. Drug enforcement experts estimate, conservatively, that the cartel's annual revenues exceed $3 billion: more than those of the . After a few days of the state elections of June 6, a war in the Golden Triangle, which is made up of a new cartel that entered the area and is contesting the leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel. He was arrested on 30 December 2013, at the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands, at the petition of the United States of America, and with the help of Interpol, on charges related to drug trafficking. The current rate of production and sale of methamphetamine in Mexico is also a result of the so-called "new era" of fully-synthetic drug manufacturing and trafficking. In November 1992, El Chapo sent 40 gunmen to raid a Tijuana Cartel party in Puerto Vallarta, killing nine people. [94], On 24 June 2020, Zambada was revealed to be "sick with diabetes," and that Zambada reportedly gave El Chapo's sons more influence over the Sinaloa Cartel. He is considered to have been one of the most powerful . El Azul reportedly died of a heart attack in June 2014, although there are rumors that he is still alive and well. The state of Sinaloa has long been a center for contraband in Mexico, as well as a home for marijuana and poppy cultivation. Like many other stories, that of the Sinaloa Cartel and its enemies in Jalisco went through friendship, betrayal and death. The cartel was founded in Mexico's Sinaloa state and now operates in 17 Mexican states, and by some estimates, in as many as 50 countries. In the late 2000s and early 2010s, the Sinaloa Cartel and Gulf Cartel were traditionally considered allies but as of 2021, this alliance has reportedly fizzled out as the two groups now battle each other in the state of Zacatecas with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel now siding with the Gulf to fight against Sinaloa. same cartel runs Durango . 4 Nuevo Laredo Massacres. [172] Such allegations were confirmed by court documents obtained by El Universal during their investigation of collaboration with top officials from the Sinaloa cartel. Google Sites. When the Mexican government failed to indemnify the ejidatarios for their lost farmland, they reoccupied a 79 hectares (200 acres) portion of the Tijuana airport and threatened armed conflict. [4][89] Guzmn was captured in Guatemala on 9 June 1993, and extradited to Mexico, where he was jailed in a maximum security prison, but on 19 January 2001, Guzmn escaped and resumed his command of the Sinaloa Cartel. As a result, more criminal, Despite the pandemics economic fallout being felt throughout the Riviera Maya, cartels have continued their extortion schemes in Mexico's popular, The United States and Mexico have officially entered a new phase of their partnership to tackle transnational organized crime groups. This would make it less likely the whole organization would be brought down all at once. The Sinaloa Cartel's tentacles stretch from New York City to Buenos Aires and almost every major city in between. [citation needed] Other shipments of South American cocaine are believed to originate from Cali and Medelln drug-trafficking groups in Colombia, from which the Sinaloa Cartel handles transportation across the U.S. border to distribution cells in Arizona, California, Illinois, Texas, New York City, and Washington state. In 2002, Mexican President Vicente Fox, who had promised to resolve the issue, also failed. El Chapo, El Azul and El Mayo all maintained their own separate but cooperating organizations, while the cartel's operations in foreign countries, and even within Mexico, are often outsourced to local partners. The most extensive database on organized crime in the Americas. Here is the fuk up thing. The majority of high-value hard drugs are smuggled into the U.S. through legal ports of entry (border crossings) according to the DEA and various sources. L ast year on Valentine's Day, the drug lord Joaquin " El Chapo " Guzman was designated Chicago's Public Enemy No. Wednesday, May 26th 2021. The Drug Enforcement Administration considers them to be "the biggest, most powerful drug cartel of all time". [45], In retaliation, the Tijuana Cartel attempted to set up Guzmn at Guadalajara airport on 24 May 1993. Many of its members are related by birth or by marriage. On 19 December 2013, the Federal Police of Mexico killed Gonzalo "El Macho Prieto" Inzunza in a gun battle in Puerto Penasco, Sonora. That's supposed to a brutal one as well. Funky town of course. [118], Due to the leadership of the organization essentially being split between the Mayo Zambada and Los Chapitos factions of the cartel, much of the state of Sinaloa is also split territorially. The next time Valdez saw his boss's cruelty unleashed on enemies of the cartel, the alleged victims didn't arrive pre-tortured. As the country's criminal landscape continues to grow more fragmented, it's unclear if and how traditional cartels will be forced to adapt. [8][62][16] As mentioned previously, the organization is currently heavily involved in the manufacture and distribution of fentanyl, much of which consists of making and selling counterfeit M30 pills designed to look like pharmaceutical-grade oxycodone pills, but which evidently do not contain any real oxycodone. [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. In the ensuing turf battles, a wave of unprecedented violence swept Mexico. Within Sinaloa, the municipalities of El Fuerte, Badiraguato, Mocorito, Angostura, Navolato, Concordia, Rosario, Escuinapa, and half of Culiacn is controlled by Los Chapitos, while San Ignacio, Elota, and the other half of the Culiacn municipality is reportedly controlled by Mayo. [47] He filed a guilty plea agreement and agreed to cooperate with the government on 8 November 2018.[148]. 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. [158], On 4 July 2019, Juan Ulises Galvn Carmona, alias "El Buda", was killed by two hit men in a convenience store in Chetumal, the capital of Quintana Roo state along Mexico's Caribbean coast. The characteristics of the system are strategies . [131][132], Similar to the "Taj Mahal" of drug tunnels discovered on Otay Mesa in 1993,[125] the 2006 drug "super tunnel" was traced back to the Sinaloa Cartel.