Sinaloa Cartel
Cártel de Sinaloa | |
Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico | |
Founded | 1987 |
---|---|
Founders | Joaquín Guzmán Loera, Ismael Zambada García, Héctor Palma Salazar, Juan José Esparragoza Moreno |
Named after | Sinaloa, Mexico |
Founding location | Culiacán, Sinaloa, México |
Years active | 1987–present[1] |
Territory | List of areas
|
Leader(s) | Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar |
Allies | See section below |
The Sinaloa Cartel (Spanish: Cártel de Sinaloa, CDS, after the native Sinaloa region), also known as the Guzmán-Zambada Organization, the Federation, the Blood Alliance,[4][5][6] or the Pacific Cartel,[7] is a large, international organized crime syndicate based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico[8] that specializes in illegal drug trafficking and money laundering.
The cartel's history is marked by evolution from a small crime syndicate to one of the most powerful and violent drug trafficking organizations in the world. Founded in the late 1960s by Pedro Avilés Pérez in Sinaloa, the cartel initially focused on smuggling marijuana into the United States (US). Pérez is credited with pioneering the use of aircraft for drug smuggling, laying the groundwork for large-scale trafficking operations. His organization was a training ground for the second generation of Sinaloan traffickers.
The Guadalajara Cartel was co-founded by Félix Gallardo between 1978 and 1980, marking the next phase in the cartel's history.[9][10][11] Under Gallardo's leadership, the cartel controlled much of Mexico's drug trafficking corridors along the US border throughout the 1980s. Following Gallardo's arrest in 1989, the cartel splintered into smaller organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel.
Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the Sinaloa Cartel, under the leadership of figures like Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, expanded its operations significantly, engaging in brutal conflicts with rival cartels and the Mexican government. The cartel diversified its drug portfolio to include cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin, further solidifying its position as a dominant force in the drug trade. Despite numerous arrests and seizures by law enforcement, the cartel has continued to operate, often employing sophisticated smuggling techniques, including tunnels under the US-Mexico border. It has operations in many world regions but primarily in the Mexican states of Sinaloa, Baja California, Durango, Sonora, and Chihuahua.[4][12] and presence in other regions in Latin America, as well as cities across the U.S.[13][14] The United States Intelligence Community considers the cartel to be the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world, perhaps more influential than Pablo Escobar's Medellín Cartel of Colombia during its prime.[15][16] According to the National Drug Intelligence Center and other sources within the U.S. the Sinaloa Cartel is primarily involved in the distribution of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl, cannabis and MDMA.[17]
As of 2023, the cartel remains Mexico's most dominant drug cartel.[15][18] After the arrest of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán and his son Ovidio Guzmán López in 2016 and 2023 respectively, the cartel was headed by old-school leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada[19] and Guzmán's other sons, Jesús Alfredo Guzmán Salazar, Joaquín Guzmán López and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar,[20][21] until 2024 when both Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López were arrested by US authorities in El Paso, Texas.[22] The cartel has had a significant impact on the War on drugs, both international and local politics, as well as in popular culture. Its influence extends beyond Mexico, with operations in the United States, Latin America, and as far as the Philippines. Despite the arrest of key leaders, the cartel remains a significant player in international drug trafficking, driven by demand for narcotics in the US and around the world.
History
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Culiacan1.png/220px-Culiacan1.png)
Avilés criminal organization
Pedro Avilés Pérez was a pioneer drug lord in the Mexican state of Sinaloa in the late 1960s. He is considered to be the first generation of major Mexican drug smugglers of marijuana who marked the birth of large-scale Mexican drug trafficking.[23] He also pioneered the use of aircraft to smuggle drugs to the United States.[24]
Second generation Sinaloan traffickers such as Rafael Caro Quintero, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Ismael Zambada García and Avilés Pérez' nephew Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán[25] would claim they learned all they knew about 'narcotraficantes' while serving in the Avilés organization. Pedro Avilés would eventually die in a shootout with federal police in September 1978 in Sinaloa.[23]
Guadalajara Cartel
Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, who co-founded the Guadalajara Cartel between 1978 and 1980, from then on; controlled much of Mexico's drug-trafficking corridors along the United States border throughout the 1980s, only to be rivaled by the Gulf Cartel which controlled some of eastern Mexico's drug trade.[26][27] Félix Gallardo divided up his "Federation" by 1987, just two years after the capture and murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena Salazar when the threat from American law enforcement became much more pressing. This division of the organization in the late 1980s led to the cartel essentially being made up of several smaller cartels who controlled their own territories and trafficking corridors with their own bosses. This would make it less likely the whole organization would be brought down all at once. One of these cartels (called plazas at the time) was Sinaloa, with the city of Culiacán acting as its headquarters.[1] In the late 1980s, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) believed the Sinaloa Cartel was the largest drug trafficking organization operating in Mexico.[28]
Gallardo was eventually arrested in 1989 and, while incarcerated, he remained one of Mexico's major traffickers, maintaining contact with his organization via mobile phone until he was transferred to a new maximum security prison in the early 1990s. At that point his nephews, the Arellano Félix 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 Héctor Luis Palma Salazar, Ismael Zambada García and Joaquín Guzmán Loera.[26][27][29][1]
El Mayo and the Tijuana Cartel war
During this time, Sinaloa was considered to be at a major disadvantage since they were forced to move much of their drug product through the Tijuana corridor, which often put them directly into conflict with the Arellanos. This eventually led to Ramón Arellano Félix killing two of Guzmán's associates thus leading to a full-fledged war between the two organizations. It was around this period in the early 1990s when Guzmán gave more control of the cartel to freelance trafficker Ismael Zambada García (a.k.a. El Mayo) particularly due to his exceptional ability to work with and coordinate with other traffickers. Throughout much of the 1990s, Ismael Zambada was also the only responsible person for the cartel's mass growth and expansion while Guzmán and Palma were incarcerated. Before co-founding the Sinaloa Cartel, Ismael Zambada García 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.[30] By the mid-1990s, according to one court opinion, the Sinaloa organization was believed to be the size of the Medellín Cartel during its prime.[28]
Zambada also helped Amado Carrillo Fuentes expand the Juárez Cartel in the state of Chihuahua and helped incorporate some of the remnants of the Juárez Cartel into the Sinaloa Cartel after Carrillo's death in 1997.[31] The Sinaloa Cartel was therefore believed to be linked to the Juárez Cartel in a strategic alliance following the partnership of their rivals, the Gulf Cartel and Tijuana Cartel.[16][28][32] Following the discovery of a tunnel system used to smuggle drugs across the Mexican/US border, the group has been associated with such means of trafficking.[33][34] The war between the Sinaloa and Tijuana cartels was supposedly at its worst from 1992 to the year 2000 with family members of some of the cartel's leaders living in fear or "everyday like it was their last", as stated by Zambada's wife at the time. However, Zambada also used this conflict to his advantage since the Mexican government began to crackdown primarily on the Tijuana Cartel, Mayo used this weakening of his rivals as an opportunity for Sinaloa to step up in the trafficking world. By around the year 2000, Zambada became recognized as one of the biggest and most powerful drug lords in Mexico, having built strong distribution networks from Colombia to the United States. Mayo's traditional major distribution hubs were allegedly in Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Denver. El Mayo was also reportedly the one who sent a private helicopter for El Chapo after he escaped Puente Grande prison in 2001.[35] The Sinaloa Cartel was partially splintered in 2008 when the Beltrán-Leyva brothers broke apart from the cartel.[11]
The Sinaloa Cartel has been waging a war against the Tijuana Cartel (Arellano-Félix Organization) over the Tijuana smuggling route to the border city of San Diego, California. The rivalry between the two cartels dates back to the Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo setup of Palma's family. Félix Gallardo, following his imprisonment, bestowed the Guadalajara Cartel to his nephews in the Tijuana Cartel. On 8 November 1992, Palma struck out against the Tijuana Cartel at a disco club in Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, where eight Tijuana Cartel members were killed in the shootout, the Arellano-Félix brothers successfully escaping from the location with the assistance of David Barron Corona, a member of the Logan Heights Gang.[36]
In retaliation, the Tijuana Cartel attempted to set up Guzmán at Guadalajara airport on 24 May 1993. In the shootout that followed, six civilians were killed by the hired gunmen from Logan Heights.[36] The dead included Roman Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo. The church hierarchy originally believed Posadas was targeted as revenge for his strong stance against the drug trade. However, Mexican officials believe Posadas just happened to be caught in cross fire.[37][38][39] The cardinal arrived at the airport in a white Mercury Grand Marquis town car, known to be popular amongst drug barons. Barron had received intelligence that Guzmán would be arriving in a white Mercury Grand Marquis town car.[37][38][39] Evidence that runs counter to a mistake theory is that Posadas did not look anything like Guzmán, he was wearing a long black cassock and a large pectoral cross, and he was gunned down from only two feet away.[36]
As of 2014, it is believed that the Tijuana Cartel, or at least a sizable majority of it, has been either absorbed or forced to ally with the Sinaloa Federation, in part due to a former high-ranking Tijuana member called Eduardo Teodoro Garcia Simental, alias "El Teo" or "Tres Letras" allying with the Federation.[40][41][42]
Dominance and interfactional conflict
By 2005, the Beltrán-Leyva brothers, who were formerly aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel, had come to dominate drug trafficking across the border with Arizona. By 2006, the Sinaloa Cartel had eliminated all competition across the 528 km (328 mi) of the Arizona border. The Milenio (Michoacán), Jalisco (Guadalajara), Sonora (Sonora), and Colima cartels were now branches of the Sinaloa Cartel.[43] At this time the organization was laundering money at global scale, mainly through British bank HSBC.[44]
In January 2008 the cartel allegedly split into a number of warring factions, which caused a major uptick in drug violence in Mexico.[45][46] Murders by the cartel often involve beheadings or bodies dissolved in vats of alkali and are sometimes filmed and posted on the Internet as a warning to rival gangs.[47]
Before his arrest, Vicente Zambada Niebla ("El Vicentillo"), son of Ismael Zambada García ("El Mayo"), played a key role in the Sinaloa Cartel. Vicente Zambada was responsible for coordinating multi-ton cocaine shipments from Central and South American countries, through Mexico, and into the United States for the Sinaloa Cartel. 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. He was arrested by the Mexican Army on 18 March 2009, and extradited on 18 February 2010, to Chicago to face federal charges.[11] He filed a guilty plea agreement and agreed to cooperate with the government on 8 November 2018.[48]
As of 2013, the Sinaloa Cartel continued to dominate the Sonora-Arizona corridor, which extends for nearly 375 mi (604 km). It relies on eight "plaza" bosses, leaders of a specific geographic region along the corridor, to coordinate, direct, and support the flow of narcotics north into the United States. Key cities along the corridor include the Mexicali plaza, San Luis Rio Colorado plaza, Sonoyta plaza, Nogales plaza, and the Agua Prieta plaza.
The Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan areas are major trans-shipment and distribution points for the cartel in the US.[49] To coordinate operations in the southeast US, Atlanta has emerged as a major distribution center and accounting hub and the presence of the Sinaloa Cartel there has brought ruthless violence to that area.[50] Chicago continues to be a major Sinaloa distribution point for the Midwest, taking advantage of a strong local demand market and convergence of several major interstate systems that offer distribution throughout the US. For a long time, the cartel also benefited from the relative ease of cash transactions and money laundering through banks with presence both in the US and Mexico like HSBC.[51][52][53]
In 2013, the Chicago Crime Commission named Joaquin "Chapo" Guzmán "Public Enemy No. 1" of a city Guzmán has never set foot in. He is the only individual to receive the title since Al Capone.[54] The focal point for Sinaloa in Chicago is the city's "Little Village" neighborhood. From this strategic point, the cartel distributes their product at the wholesale level to dozens of local street gangs, as much as 2 metric tons a month, in a city with over 117,000 documented gang members. The Gangster Disciples are one of the local gangs most actively working with the cartel.[13] The cartel's attempts to control the Chicago drug market have brought them into direct conflict with other Chicago gangs, including the Black P. Stones, Vice Lords, and Black Disciples, resulting in an increase in violence in the city.[55]
The Sinaloa Cartel has operations in the Philippines as a trans-shipment point for drugs smuggled into the United States. Since 2013, the cartel has been operating in the Philippines after a raid on a ranch in Lipa, Batangas, according to a statement by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) director general Arthur Cacdac, and have entered the country without notice.[56] 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.[57] The presence of the cartel in the Philippines has worsened the ongoing war between drug lords, drug cartels and the government in that country.[58]
On 4 July 2019, Juan Ulises Galván 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.[59][60] El Buda served as the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel's drug trafficking activities and shipments from Central and South America.[59][60]
Edgar Valdez Villarreal
Los Negros have been known to employ gangs such as the Mara Salvatrucha to carry out murders and other illegal activities. The group is involved in fighting in the Nuevo Laredo region for control of the drug trafficking corridor.[4][16][61] Following the 2003 arrest of Gulf Cartel leader Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, it is believed the Sinaloa Cartel moved 200 men into the region to battle the Gulf Cartel for control.[32] 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.
Following the 2004 assassination of journalist Roberto Javier Mora García from El Mañana newspaper, much of the local media has been cautious about their reporting of the fighting. The cartels have pressured reporters to send messages and wage a media war. The drug war has spread to various regions of Mexico, such as Guerrero, Mexico City, Michoacán and Tamaulipas.
On 30 August 2010, Villarreal was captured by Mexican Federal Police.[62]
Arrests and seizures
On 25 February 2009, the U.S. government announced the arrest of 750 members of the Sinaloa Cartel across the U.S. in Operation Xcellerator. They also announced the seizure of more than $59 million in cash and numerous vehicles, planes, and boats.[63][64]
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 Juárez, which has suffered the highest number of casualties in the country.[65]
On 20 August 2009, the DEA broke up a large Mexican drug operation in Chicago, and uncovered a major distribution network operated by the Flores crew led by twin brothers Margarito and Pedro Flores that operated there. The drug operation allegedly brought 3,000 to 4,000 pounds (1,400 to 1,800 kg) of cocaine every month to Chicago from Mexico and shipped millions of dollars south of the border. The shipments were mostly bought from the Sinaloa Cartel and at times from the Beltrán-Leyva Cartel, and it is assumed that both cartels threatened the Flores crew with violence if they bought from other rival drug organizations.[66]
On 11 May 2010, Alfonso Gutiérrez Loera, cousin of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, and 5 other drug traffickers were arrested after a shootout with Federal Police officers in Culiacan, Sinaloa. Along with the captured suspects, 16 assault rifles, 3 grenades, 102 magazines and 3,543 rounds of ammunition were seized.[67]
The Mexican Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) reported the arrest of Jesús Alfredo Salazar Ramírez, alias "El Muñeco" or "El Pelos", who was identified as the current lieutenant of the South Pacific Cartel in the state of Sonora. As stated by Sedena, "El Muñeco" worked as an administrator under Joaquín Guzmán Loera[68] and is believed to be responsible for the death of the activist Nepomuceno Moreno. Jesús Alfredo Salazar Ramírez was arrested on 1 November 2012, in the municipality of Huixquilucan, by military personnel working with the Mexican Attorney General's office (PGR).[69]
"El Muñeco" is considered to be one of the most important lieutenants of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, evident from his control of the planting, production, and trafficking of drugs in Sonora and in the mountains of Chihuahua, which were sent predominantly to the US. He is linked to various homicides, among them the lawyer Rubén Alejandro Cepeda Leos, who was assassinated on 20 December 2011, in the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua. According to the Sedena he is the assumed assassin of activist Nepomuceno Moreno Núñez, which occurred 28 November 2011. Nepomuceno Moreno was an activist who sought justice for the disappearance of his son and joined the Mexican Indignados Movement, led by the poet Javier Sicilia.
José Rodrigo Aréchiga Gamboa (alias "Chino Antrax") was a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel.[70] He was a leader and founding member of Los Ántrax, an armed squadron formed to protect Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada García, founding member 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 cartel's loss of partners in Mexico does not appear to have affected its ability to smuggle drugs from South America to the USA. On the contrary, based on seizure reports, the Sinaloa Cartel appears to be the most active smuggler of cocaine. The reports also demonstrated the cartels possess the ability to establish operations in previously unknown areas, such as Central America and South America, even as far south as Peru, Paraguay and Argentina. 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.[71]
On 19 December 2013, the Federal Police of Mexico killed Gonzalo "El Macho Prieto" Inzunza in a gun battle in Puerto Penasco, Sonora. Inzunza was believed to be one of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's chief cartel leaders.
In December 2013, three suspected members of the cartel were arrested in Lipa in Batangas province in the Philippines with 84 kg (185 lb) of methamphetamine.[56][72]
In February 2014, "El Chapo" Guzmán was arrested. The capture of the Sinaloa Cartel's "El Chapo" Guzmán ignited a fight over the trial's location. Calls for his extradition to the United States started just hours after his arrest. Guzmán also faces federal indictment in several locations including San Diego, New York, and Texas, among other places.
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.
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.[73]
Hierarchy
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Cartel_du_Sinaloa.png/220px-Cartel_du_Sinaloa.png)
The Sinaloa Cartel used to be known as La Alianza de Sangre ("Blood Alliance").[74] 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."[75]
Structure
The Cipher Brief identified the CDS's international success as largely being due to a horizontal system of organization as opposed to the top-down hierarchy employed by many of its rivals. Having decentralized in order to expand abroad, as well as to allow itself to "[survive] brutal attacks by rival cartels and the capture of its most prominent leader, Chapo Guzman," the cartel's use of this strategy was compared to the semi-autonomous networks of subsidies and local branches used by many legitimate franchises; "Authority for decision-making flows across various components rather than moving downward in a formal chain of command."[76]
Leadership
When Héctor Luis Palma Salazar was arrested on 23 June 1995, by the Mexican Army, his partner Joaquín Guzmán Loera took leadership of the cartel.[12][77] Guzmán 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, Guzmán escaped and resumed his command of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Guzmán have one close associate, Ismael Zambada García.[71][36] Guzman and Zambada became Mexico's top drug kingpins in 2003, after the arrest of their rival Osiel Cárdenas Guillén of the Gulf Cartel. Another close associate, Javier Torres Félix, was arrested and extradited to the U.S. in December 2006.[78] On 29 July 2010, Ignacio Coronel was killed in a shootout with the Mexican military in Zapopan, Jalisco.[79]
Guzmán was captured on 22 February 2014, overnight by American and Mexican authorities. On 11 July 2015, he escaped from the Federal Social Readaption Center No. 1, a maximum-security prison in the State of Mexico, through a tunnel in his prison cell. Guzmán resumed his command of the Sinaloa Cartel, but on 8 January 2016, Guzmán was captured again during a raid on a home in the city of Los Mochis, in Guzmán's home state of Sinaloa.[73] With the arrest of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, Ismael Zambada has assumed the total leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel.[80]
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.[81] This also ended an attempt to recruit former high-ranking Mexican drug lords Rafael and Miguel Caro Quintero as members of the Sinaloa Cartel due to the refusal of El Chapo's sons to grant them leadership status.[81] Under Zambada's leadership, the Sinaloa Cartel had been willing to negotiate potential leadership for the Caro Quintero brothers due to their histories as bosses in the predecessor organization.[81]
In current times, it is believed that while Guzmán's relatives and friends scramble for marginal leadership positions in the organization, the real top leader is still Ismael Zambada who mediates power between them and allows them an umbrella of the organization to work under his reign with seemingly, relative autonomy.[82] As of November 2022, the Chapitos and Zambada factions are rumored to have reconciled their recent differences in order to come together to battle the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.[83]
At the time of his arrest on 5 January 2023, El Chapo son Ovidio Guzmán was believed to be the leader of the cartel's Chapitos faction.[21] On September 15, 2023, Ovidio would be extradited to the United States.[84]
Co-founder and leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López, one of the sons of El Chapo, were arrested by US authorities in El Paso, Texas on July 25, 2024.[85]
Operations
In the late 1980s, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) believed the Sinaloa Cartel was the largest drug trafficking organization operating in Mexico.[28] By the mid-1990s, according to one court opinion, it was believed to be the size of the Medellín Cartel during its prime, and had continued to grow to become one of the world's largest criminal syndicates with widely diverse international connections.[28] Following the discovery of various tunnel systems used to smuggle drugs right underneath and across the Mexican/US border since 1990; the group (mainly due to the past activities of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzmán) has thus also been associated with such means of trafficking, with more tunnels still being discovered and associated with the Sinaloa Cartel to this day. According to the DEA, the CDS's drug tunnels are usually found in California and Arizona.[33][34][86]
The Sinaloa Cartel has a presence in at least 22 of the 31 Mexican states, with important centers in Mexico City, Tepic, Toluca, Zacatecas, Guadalajara and most of the state of Sinaloa.[87][needs update] The Sinaloa Cartel has historically operated in the "Golden Triangle", the states of Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua. The region is a major producer of Mexican opium and marijuana.[11] In this region, black tar heroin has often been referred to as the "black goat".[88] Despite trafficking various types of illicit substances, the cartel's operations seem to mostly favor the trade of cocaine and opioids, particularly in a distribution hub like Chicago, where demand for methamphetamine is relatively low.[89] According to the U.S. Attorney General, the Sinaloa Cartel was responsible for importing into the United States and distributing nearly 200 short tons (180 t) of cocaine and large amounts of heroin between 1990 and 2008.[90] However, during the second wave of America's opioid epidemic in the mid-2010s, which was driven largely by heroin; the prevalence and trafficking of fentanyl began to increase exponentially leading to the third wave and eventually turning into the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history.[88] Additionally, around 2014 a measurable rise in Colombian cocaine production and global consumption began to increase annually up to the present, currently marking a new high-point for the global use of cocaine.[91][92][93][94] The cartel appears to still have major methamphetamine operations in cities throughout the U.S., such as in San Diego and Atlanta.[95][96] The CDS as well as other large Mexican cartels have set up major marijuana growing operations in the remote forests and deserts of California.[97][98][99]
Territory and presence
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, Querétaro, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo.[100][87][12][101]
Sinaloa
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. Within Sinaloa, the municipalities of El Fuerte, Badiraguato, Mocorito, Angostura, Navolato, Concordia, Rosario, Escuinapa, and half of Culiacán is controlled by Los Chapitos, while San Ignacio, Elota, and the other half of the Culiacán municipality is reportedly controlled by Mayo. The municipalities of Cosala and Mazatlán are said to have more than one group controlling the territory as well as some of the northern regions of the state, which are purportedly partially controlled by the Beltrán-Leyva Organization.[102]
International
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. Locations outside Mexico include Latin America (Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panamá, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina),[13][103] the Anglo-Caribbean region (Belize, Guyana), Canada (British Columbia, Eastern Canada) and the United States (primarily the Southwest, Southern and parts of the Mid-Atlantic).[104][33][105][106][107][108]
Tijuana Airport/Drug Super Tunnels
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/23/Drug_Tunnel_Corridors_Otay_Mesa_San_Diego.jpg/220px-Drug_Tunnel_Corridors_Otay_Mesa_San_Diego.jpg)
In 1989, the Sinaloa Cartel dug its first drug tunnel between a house in Agua Prieta, Sonora to a warehouse located in Douglas, Arizona. The 300 feet (91 m) tunnel was discovered in May 1990.[109][86] Following the discovery by U.S. Customs and Mexican Federal Police, the Sinaloa Cartel began to focus their smuggling operations towards Tijuana and Otay Mesa, San Diego where it acquired a warehouse in 1992. After the assassination of Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo and six others at the Guadalajara airport on 24 May 1993,[110] the gunmen boarded a commercial jet. When the jet landed at the Tijuana airport, both police and military units failed to cordon off the aircraft and the gunmen escaped.[111] On 31 May 1993, Mexican federal agents searching for the gunmen found a partially completed 1,500 feet (460 m) tunnel adjacent to the Tijuana airport and crossing under the U.S.-Mexico border to a warehouse on Otay Mesa in San Diego. It was discovered as Mexican and San Diego officials were discussing the creation of a cross-border airport between Tijuana and Otay Mesa which would have undermined the drug tunneling operations in the area (see History of the Cross Border Xpress). The tunnel was described by the DEA in San Diego as the "Taj Mahal" of drug tunnels along the U.S.-Mexico border and was linked to Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzmán.[112][113] 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. The "super tunnels" were equipped with power, ventilation and rail tracks to allow the efficient movement of large loads of narcotics across the U.S.-Mexico border. As seen on image 1 Drug tunnel corridors the close proximity of the former Ejido Tampico to the Tijuana airport and U.S.-Mexico border made it an ideal staging area for smuggling operations into the United States.[114][115]
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a5/Ejido_Tampico_2000_to_2006_development.jpg/220px-Ejido_Tampico_2000_to_2006_development.jpg)
The Mexican government's conflict with the former Ejido Tampico dated back to 1970, when they expropriated 320 hectares (790 acres) of the Ejido Tampico to build a new runway and passenger terminal at the Tijuana airport and agreed to pay the displaced ejidatarios (the communal farmers) $1.4 million pesos ($112,000 U.S. dollars in 1970). 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. As shown by image 2 Ejido Tampico, from 1970 to 2000, the occupied land at the Tijuana airport remained relatively undeveloped. In 1999, the Tijuana airport was privatized and became part of a 12 airport network known as Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (Pacific Airport Group). In an attempt to resolve the dispute and remove the ejidatarios from the privatized Tijuana airport, the Mexican government established a value on the expropriated 320 hectares (790 acres) at $1.2 million pesos ($125,560 U.S. dollars in 1999) while the ejidatarios of the former Ejido Tampico taking into account the increase in property values from 1970 to 1999 and the privatization of the Tijuana airport established a commercial value on their lost land at $2.8 billion pesos ($294 million U.S. dollars). In 2002, Mexican President Vicente Fox, who had promised to resolve the issue, also failed.[116] As shown image 2 Ejido Tampico comparison between 2000 and 2006, the ejidatarios then proceeded to commercially develop the 79 hectares (200 acres) area at the Tijuana airport by leasing buildings and parcels to trucking and storage companies. 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.[117] As prior drug tunnels, it crossed under the U.S.-Mexico border into a warehouse on Otay Mesa in San Diego with the capacity to move multi-ton loads of narcotics.[118][119]
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Sinaloa_Cartel_Drug_Tunnel.jpg/220px-Sinaloa_Cartel_Drug_Tunnel.jpg)
Similar to the "Taj Mahal" of drug tunnels discovered on Otay Mesa in 1993,[112] the 2006 drug "super tunnel" was traced back to the Sinaloa Cartel. With unregulated trucking and warehouse operations, the former Ejido Tampico became a major distribution point for narcotics being moved into the United States. In the ensuing years, drug tunnels moving tons of narcotics were detected in and around the Tijuana airport. The former Ejido Tampico also continued to expand its unpermitted development and more drug tunnels were discovered operating within its boundary to warehouses located on Otay Mesa in San Diego, California.[119][120][121][122][123] In 2011, at the westerly end of the Tijuana airport a 1,800-foot (550-meter) drug "super tunnel" was discovered dug under the airport's 10/28 runway[124][125] from a warehouse located 980 feet (300 meters) from Mexico's 12th Military Air Base and 330 feet (100 meters) from a Mexican Federal Police station.[126] 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. In December 2016, one month prior Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán Loera's extradition to the U.S.,[127] two "super tunnels", one in operation while the other was under construction, were discovered by Mexican agents adjacent to the Tijuana airport/Ejido Tampico and the Otay Mesa border crossing. Both were associated with the Sinaloa Cartel.[128][129] On 21 June 2017, Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán's "girlfriend" and former legislator of the state of Sinaloa, Lucero Guadalupe Sánchez López, was arrested at the Tijuana airport's Cross Border Xpress by CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) officers as she crossed into the U.S. She was charged with drug conspiracy and money laundering, and had been with Joaquín Guzmán when he escaped capture in 2014.[130]
Cartel allies
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. The CDS is also battling La Linea teamed with the CJNG in Ciudad Juarez.
The Sinaloa Cartel have also made alliances with other gangs within the regions they operate. Domestically, the cartel's sub-groups and allies are known to consist of Los Ántrax (enforcer unit), Grupo Flechas,[131][132] Los Cabrera (armed wing),[133][134] Los Rusos (Zambada faction),[135] Los Chapitos (Guzmán faction),[136] Los Mexicles, Los Salazares (trafficking cell in Sonora),[137][138] Sonora Cartel, Colima Cartel, Gente Nueva (armed wing), and La Barredora, while international alliances are thought to include Crips, Cártel del Noreste (in Zacatecas), La Nueva Familia Michoacana, Cárteles Unidos, La Familia Michoacana, Los Dámasos (armed wing), Independent Cartel of Nuevo León,[139] Los Rastrojos, Paraguaná Cartel, Cachiros, Choneros, National Liberation Army,[14] Herrera Organization,[140] Fernando Pineda-Jimenez Organization,[141] Mexican Mafia, Moroccan mafia, Serbian mafia,[142][143][144] Kinahan Organised Crime Group, Independent Soldiers,[145][146] Irish mob, Hells Angels (denied by HAMC), Chechen mafia, Albanian mafia,[147] Romanian mafia,[148] and the 'Ndrangheta
The Sinaloa Federation has also formed alliances with two powerful Chinese triads, Sun Yee On and the 14K Triad, to acquire the precursor chemicals needed in creating highly-addictive synthetic drugs like methamphetamine, and now, likely fentanyl. Operatives like local gangs pick up the chemicals from dropoff points and ship them to hidden labs. The resulting products are shipped to the United States and many South American countries.[149] Chinese transnational criminal groups also launder money at scale for the cartel.[150][151] The Sinaloa Cartel also reportedly has a major presence in Colombia and has partnered with various paramilitary drug cartels such as the Clan del Golfo.[citation needed]
Alleged collusion with Mexican federal forces
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. 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. NPR's reporters interviewed dozens of officials and ordinary people for the journalistic investigation. One report quotes a former Juarez police commander who claimed the entire department was working for the Sinaloa Cartel and helping it to fight other groups. He also claimed that the Sinaloa Cartel had bribed the military. Also quoted was a Mexican reporter who claimed hearing numerous times from the public that the military had been involved in murders.[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. He claimed that the Sinaloa Cartel influenced the Mexican government and military to gain control of the region. A DEA agent in the same trial alleged that Fierro-Mendez had contacts with a Mexican military officer. 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. A Mexican official denied the allegation of favoritism, and a DEA agent and a political scientist also had alternate explanations for the arrest data.[152] Another report detailed numerous indications of corruption and influence that the cartel has within the Mexican government.[153]
There have also been multiple reports of senior members of the Sinaloa Cartel giving out bribes to high ranking Mexican government officials. A witness testified at Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's 2019 U.S. trial that the former president of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, took a $100 million bribe from El Chapo. In early 2023, the former Secretary of Public Security in Mexico from 2006 to 2012, Genaro Garcia Luna, was convicted for accepting millions of dollars in cash bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel, in exchange for his resources as a public official. The Sinaloa Cartel often had access to Mexico's Federal Police as well as having access to sensitive information in order to shake off law enforcement.[154]
Alleged collusion with US federal forces
In 2012, Newsweek reported about allegations from an anonymous former Sinaloa member turned informant and former DEA agents that alleged that Joaquín Guzmán's legal adviser, Humberto Loya-Castro, had become a key informant for the DEA. Loya-Castro had become an official informant of the DEA in 2005 but was already providing vital information on rival cartels since the 1990s; such intel was instrumental to the takedown of the Tijuana Cartel, the Sinaloa cartel's main rival, as well as the death of Arturo Beltrán Leyva, who led a splinter group from the Sinaloa cartel. Such information ensured Loya-Castro was immune from prosecution while also keeping the DEA concentrated on Sinaloa's rivals and away from their leadership.[155] Such allegations were confirmed by court documents obtained by El Universal during their investigation of collaboration with top officials from the Sinaloa cartel. 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.[156][157]
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.[158] 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.[159]
In March 2015, BBC TV program This World broadcast an episode entitled "Secrets of Mexico's Drug War"[160] which reported on the US government's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Operation Fast and Furious which had allowed licensed firearms dealers to sell weapons to illegal buyers acting on behalf of Mexican drug cartel leaders, in particular the Sinaloa Cartel.[161] The BBC also reported on Vicente Zambada Niebla's claims of immunity from prosecution under a deal between the Mexican and US governments and his claims that the Sinaloa Cartel's leaders had provided US federal agents with information about rival Mexican drug gangs.[162] In the same documentary it is shown that the US Justice Department invoked national security reasons to prevent Humberto Loya Castro, the lawyer of the Sinaloa Syndicate, from being summoned as a witness to the trial against Vicente Zambada Niebla.
In the late 1980s, former DEA agent Hector Berrellez conducted an investigation into the murder of DEA agent Kiki Camarena, who was kidnapped, tortured, and killed in 1985. Through his investigation, dubbed Operation Leyenda, Berrellez allegedly discover that a previous CIA operative took part in the interrogation and torture of Camarena with the aim of extracting information regarding the agent's awareness of the U.S. government's ties to drug cartels. One significant informant, Guillermo González Calderoni, the deputy director of the Federal Judicial Police in Mexico, provided Berrellez with information that allegedly pointed to the CIA's involvement in Camarena's murder. Berrellez's investigation into the Camarena killing resulted in four convictions in U.S. federal court in 1992 but not longer after, Berrellez was transferred off Operation Leyenda. Berrellez remained silent until 2013, the release of drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero prompted Berrellez to publicly allege the CIA's role in Camarena's death. The CIA has since denied any involvement in Camarena's murder. In 2020, Amazon released a documentary titled 'The Last Narc,' exploring Berrellez's allegations and Operation Leyenda.[163][164]
Market
The cartel is primarily involved in the smuggling and distribution of South American (primarily Colombian) cocaine, Mexican marijuana, methamphetamine and fentanyl, as well as Mexican and Southeast Asian heroin into the United States.[165][16] However, much of the marijuana that is now cultivated and dealt by the cartel is being illegally grown in remote areas of California within the U.S. In recent times, the cartel has also moved further away from smuggling MDMA and even heroin, while increasing smuggling of cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine. 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. They have been known to frequently use American citizens as mules, many of whom have drugs stuffed in passenger vehicles or tractor-trailers.[166][88] Some of these are what are known as "trap cars", which are equipped with sophisticated mechanistic designs that reveal stash spots for drugs only when certain functions of the vehicle are manually performed simultaneously or in sequence.[166] The cartel has also recently increased their migrant smuggling operations in border regions.
Cocaine
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. From there it is smuggled north to Mexico and later into the U.S.[140] A very large percentage of the cocaine that gets trafficked through Mexico presumably comes through Guatemala first, with the most common estimate being about 600,000–800,000 pounds (300–400 short tons) a year arriving in Guatemala.[167][168] Other shipments of South American cocaine are believed to originate directly from Cali and Medellín drug-trafficking groups in Colombia, from which the Sinaloa Cartel then handles transportation across the U.S. border to distribution cells in Arizona, California, Illinois, Texas, New York City, and Washington state.[4][165][33][105] Since Colombia is still the biggest producer of cocaine in the world, the Sinaloa Cartel is currently the most active Mexican cartel operating within Colombia where it helps finance and support several of Colombia's local paramilitary drug-trafficking groups such as the left-wing National Liberation Army, dissidents of FARC and Colombia's current largest drug cartel and right-wing paramilitary group; the Clan del Golfo. The Sinaloa organization also now participates directly in coca cultivation and production in Colombia.[14] Nearly 85% of Colombia's coca is grown within just five departments in the nation.[94] These are likely the same five departments in Colombia in which the CDS and CJNG rivalry has been detected, which has reportedly led to the displacement of thousands of Colombian citizens just in early 2021. The presence of Mexican cartel groups in Colombia directly coincides with places that are more abundant with coca crops, or with strategic drug trafficking routes: the Pacific coast of Nariño, Catatumbo, Bajo Cauca in Antioquia, Norte del Cauca, and Magdalena.[14]
Although Colombia, Bolivia and Peru have traditionally been the most notable South American countries in the cocaine trade, in recent times; Venezuela as well as Ecuador have stepped up their involvement in the trade,[169][170][171] with the Venezuelan organization Cartel of the Suns poising concern to authorities abroad, as well as the increasing size of recent cocaine seizures in Ecuador.[172][173][174] In August 2021, a single multi-ton cocaine shipment was seized off the coast of Ecuador causing a string of killings in the aftermath.[173][175] The CDS is said to have a longstanding partnership with one of Ecuador's largest and most powerful criminal groups; The Choneros, who are based in the Pacific coast beach town of Manta, although they get their name from the western city of Chone.[176] 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.[169][176] This caused most of the organization's activities to be controlled and influenced directly from prison where the gang continued to recruit new members.[176] They reportedly engage in micro-trafficking, contract killing, extortion and contraband smuggling.[169] 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.[169] According to the Washington Post, the Choneros are said to use their connections to rapidly move cocaine from the Colombian border to the Ecuadorian port of Guayaquil.[169] Ecuador's purported 2021 "spiral" into increased rates of crime and drug violence supposedly can be traced back to December 28, 2020, when Jorge Luis Zambrano González (alias Rasquiña), leader of the gang was assassinated in a shopping mall cafeteria in Manta.[176] 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. This growing of the organization as well as the killing of Rasquiña, and the increasing importance of Ecuador in the illegal cocaine trade has given way to the recent crime waves in the region.[176][175]
Opioids (heroin and fentanyl)
It also currently deals in the fentanyl trade to a large extent, distributing both raw fentanyl powder as well as counterfeit "M30" pills designed to look like authentic oxycodone but which are in-fact, just pressed with fentanyl or other chemicals.[88][177] Similarly to methamphetamine, raw fentanyl production and distribution is incredibly profitable. Fentanyl is 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.[88] 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.[178][88] Fentanyl is chemically classified as a phenylpiperidine in its molecular structure, unlike the more traditional morphinan poppy-derived opiates such as codeine, morphine and even the closely related hydrocodone and heroin (diacetylmorphine).[179][180] In the coastal city of Mazatlán, it reportedly takes as little as eight days for the precursor chemicals to move from a Pacific Ocean delivery to hidden cartel labs, then north across the U.S. border.[88]
According to a 2019 DEA report, it is "estimated that each fentanyl pill costs only $1 to produce. It can be resold in the U.S. for at least 10 times as much."[181] The cartel also manufactures and traffics heroin, a semisynthetic morphinan compound made from the Opium poppy (Papaver somniferum), which is now typically mixed with fentanyl to very cheaply increase its strength.[182] Much of the heroin smuggled, particularly by the Sinaloa Cartel is made in "The Golden Triangle", a region in Mexico overlapping parts of the states of Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua where opium and marijuana have historically been cultivated.[11] Local state and government crackdowns on these farms however have pushed much of the opioid market in the direction of synthetics like fentanyl which can be made far more covertly.[88] In recent times fentanyl in Mexico has sometimes, haphazardly been referred to as "Mexican oxy" or even "synthetic heroin".[88]
The northern regions of Baja California, Sinaloa and Sonora have also been dubbed by some media outlets as the "Golden Triangle for fentanyl production and transferring", as both a distinction from and comparison to the classic opium farming region further south.[183] In this northern regional area of illicit production, several important cities in its production and trade, such as Culiacán, Tijuana, Ensenada and San Luis Río Colorado consistently see the highest amount of law enforcement seizures for fentanyl, typically in kilograms (powder) or pressed pills.[183] This has also subsequently led to the border city of San Diego reportedly becoming the 'epicenter for fentanyl trafficking in America' in mid-2022 due to its proximity to the border, according to local news reports.[184] In San Diego County, the amount of fentanyl intercepted by US Customs and Border Protection rose from 1,599 pounds (725 kg) in 2019 to more than 6,700 pounds (3,000 kg) in 2021.[185] 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. Many of these mules are American citizens which helps ease the smuggling process, usually through the ports of entry back into the U.S. Mules are typically paid several thousand dollars to transport what usually amounts to millions of dollars worth of narcotics at a time.[88] Tijuana has now also begun to develop its own problems with fentanyl use and addiction, despite this having mostly been a U.S. and Canadian phenomenon.[183]
Multicolored rainbow fentanyl
![]() | This section includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (November 2023) |
Due to the cartel's past and current operations of pressing fentanyl into blue counterfeit "oxycodone (lookalike) pills", which have led to tens of thousands of accidental overdose deaths in the U.S. yearly, the Federation has reportedly responded by making multicolored fentanyl pills, so that customers know they are counterfeit and likely fentanyl rather than a controlled dose of the more sought-after drug oxycodone. They have also begun coloring the fentanyl powder in different colors so that dealers in the U.S. don't accidentally or intentionally mix in fentanyl powder with other white powdered substances like cocaine. 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. 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.[186]
Marijuana
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 modern 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.[97] In the summer of 2021, this apparently led to Los Angeles County's largest marijuana bust in its history.[97][98][99] They discovered and dismantled 70 to 80 "hoop house" style green houses in the open desert and recovered thousands of pounds of marijuana which used water diverted or "hogged" from nearby alfalfa, carrot and potato farms.[99] These grows can supposedly yield three to five harvests a year.[187]
According to the RAND Corporation in 2010 it wasn't unrealistic to presume that "at least 50 percent" of the marijuana consumed in the United States was produced in Mexico. However, in the subsequent years after this the U.S.'s gradual moves towards recreational legalization in many states, as well as the superior quality of American-grown marijuana significantly began to cut down on the profits of cartels in Mexico.[187] Despite this however, groups producing marijuana in Mexico still have been transferring product to states on the US side which still have not legalized.[187]
The legitimate cash-heavy business of local, fully legal marijuana shops can also prove beneficial for the cartel's money laundering activities.[187] Factions like the Chapitos have already gotten into "branding" of marijuana products and investing in production as well as lobbying certain politicians for legalization.[188] Currently, Culiacán's best-known brand is called "Star Kush". Its logo has an astronaut eating a slice of pizza; the pizza used by the cartel as a reference to "La Chapisa", the people working for Guzmán and his sons. The astronaut sits on top of a huge tomato due to Culiacán's role in being Mexico's biggest tomato exporter. Local producers of cannabis are financed by the Sinaloa organization to "make the best product" but are only allowed to sell it back to the cartel for their dispensaries.[189]
Methamphetamine
Although likely not as prolific in methamphetamine cooking as the CJNG [according to whom?], the Sinaloa Cartel still has major methamphetamine operations throughout North America,[95][96][190] which currently includes Mexico itself due to the now ubiquitous use of meth in the country; with regions like Guanajuato reportedly seeing a 2,400% increase in meth use from 2010 to 2020 roughly.[191][192] Reportedly in 2010, out of every 100 people who used drugs in Guanajuato, only about two (2%) used crystal meth. While at the end of 2020; this figure increased to almost 50%, with usage rates for drugs like marijuana actually decreasing among users.[192] The current rate of production and sale of methamphetamine in Mexico is now also a result of the so-called "new era" of fully-synthetic drug manufacturing and trafficking. Methamphetamine, being another fully-synthetic compound (like fentanyl) also means that it doesn't require farming, cultivation and other related resources like those needed for production of marijuana, cocaine and heroin. It also "packs tighter" (see: Iron law of prohibition) than certain other drugs when smuggling due to its high potency relative to its weight.[193][191]
According to a 2019 RAND Corporation study 50% of global record seizures of the drug in 2018 were in North America. The US market for the drug, (as of 2021) may be worth an upwards of $50 billion; four times as much as the reported $13 billion market the U.S. had for methamphetamine in 2010. Along with North America, the world's other big regions of methamphetamine consumption are Southeast Asia and Oceania; mainly Australia and to a lesser extent, New Zealand.[194] Initially when Mexican cartels like Sinaloa first moved into the Netherlands to set up shop around 2015 for their new drug manufacturing operations. The cartel however eventually convinced many of these groups to move away from MDMA synthesis and try to produce methamphetamine instead due to the potential for much higher profits.[195]
Similarly to fentanyl, much of meth's industrial-grade precursors sourced from China or India, as well as Germany, arrive in Mexico at ports like Manzanillo, which has caused notable increases of violence in the small coastal state of Colima, as well as in strategic synthetic drug trafficking regions further north like Baja California and Zacatecas.[193][196] Along with the state's Pacific Ocean chemical shipments at major ports Federal Highway 15 acts as a south-to-north thoroughfare, cutting from the port city of Mazatlán, through Sinaloa.[196] This transit system allows the Sinaloa Cartel to transport precursor chemicals and the finished product across the northern border with passenger vehicles by far being the most common method for smuggling through the ports of entry. This has led to the state of Sinaloa essentially dominating the manufacturing of synthetic illegal drugs in Mexico.[196]
It was initially during the 1980s, that Mexican drug manufacturers began bringing methamphetamine north across the border and newer forms that could be smoked were then introduced.[197] During 2019 in the US, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recorded 16,167 methamphetamine overdose deaths, up from 3,627 overdoses related to the drug in 2013. Of the lethal meth overdoses registered in 2019, 52 of them occurred in New Hampshire, which is what caught the DEA's attention in regards to fake "Adderall" pills.[193] Greatest use of the drug has traditionally been seen in the American Southwest, West, Northwest Inland, and in the rural Midwest.[197] It was around 2005 when Mexican cartels such as the CDS began to take over almost complete control of the methamphetamine market in the US; largely due to US lawmakers passing the Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act, which greatly limited access to over-the-counter cold medicines that contain ephedrine and pseudoephedrine.[191]
Purportedly, a larger percentage of Mexican methamphetamine is now made from entirely synthetic precursors instead of the natural compound ephedrine, or even the closely related pseudoephedrine due to the country's restrictions on these precursor chemicals starting around 2007 (two years after the U.S.'s restrictions).[198][197] Much of the modern methamphetamine circulating in North America from Mexican cartels like Sinaloa therefore now mostly consists of a half-and-half (racemic) or at times; uneven mixture of both the L-methamphetamine isomer (which is less dopaminergic and has more physical side effects) alongside the more desirable and potent D-methamphetamine (dextrorotatory) isomer.[199][198][194][200] This is because methods for synthesizing methamphetamine without using ephedrine or pseudoephedrine, such as the alternative P2P reduction method; tends to yield a racemic (50:50) mixture of both isomers (specifically called enantiomers), rather than just pure d-methamphetamine which is observed in pseudoephedrine-based syntheses.[198][194]
P2P (phenyl-2-propanone) is usually obtained from phenylacetic acid and acetic anhydride,[201] with phenylacetic acid possibly arising from benzaldehyde, benzylcyanide, or benzylchloride.[202] Methylamine is crucial to all such methods, and is produced from the model airplane fuel nitromethane, or formaldehyde and ammonium chloride, or methyl iodide with hexamine.[203] This was once the preferred method of production by American motorcycle gangs in California, until DEA restrictions on the precursor chemicals made the process difficult.[204] This method can involve the use of mercuric chloride and leaves behind mercury and lead environmental wastes.[205]
Impact
Mexico and Latin America
The cartel has been accused of infiltrating and corrupting various levels of government. There have been allegations of collusion between cartel members and politicians, law enforcement officials, and even elements of the military. Political corruption and the influence of drug cartels have been significant challenges for Mexico, affecting the credibility of its institutions. Cartel activities lead to the degradation of communities, with cities like Ciudad Juárez experiencing high levels of violence, kidnappings, and public decapitations.[206]
The Sinaloa Cartel's operations extend beyond Mexico, with the organization involved in drug trafficking throughout Latin America. The evolution of trafficking routes from Colombian cartels to Mexican drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) shifted the dynamics, impacting Latin American territories. Specifically, the competition between Colombian cartels and Mexican DTOs, as well as internal competition among Mexican groups, contributed to a surge in violence over the past few decades. Historically, Colombian cartels dominated the cocaine trade, particularly during the 1970s and 1980s.[206] However, changes in the global cocaine market, including increased demand in the United States, prompted a shift in production to Colombia. As a result, Mexican DTOs became crucial players in transporting cocaine from South America to the United States. The struggle for control over strategic trafficking routes and drug-producing regions led to territorial disputes, resulting in increased levels of violence, including confrontations with law enforcement and rival cartels.[207]
The decline of Colombian cartels, partly due to law enforcement efforts and internal conflicts, created a power vacuum in the drug trade. Mexican DTOs capitalized on this vacuum and expanded their operations, leading to increased competition not only with Colombian cartels but also among themselves[206]
International
The influx of drugs, particularly narcotics, from Mexican cartels into the United States contributes to the rising drug epidemic, addiction rates, and associated public health concerns. The 1990s and 2000s saw the emergence of the opioid epidemic, driven initially by the overprescription of opioid painkillers, creating a lucrative market that Mexican cartels exploited.[208]
The violence perpetrated by drug cartels in Mexico directly spills over into U.S. border regions. Incidents such as shootouts, abductions, and turf wars between rival cartels can extend beyond the Mexican side of the border, causing an escalation of violence in U.S. communities.[208] U.S. Law enforcement agencies in border states face increased pressure to combat drug trafficking and related criminal activities, since police and other authorities must contend with the challenges posed by transnational criminal organizations operating on both sides of the border, stretching their resources and capabilities. [206][209]
In popular culture
- The Sinaloa Cartel has in both recent and past times; most often been the primary drug cartel that is associated with narcoculture in Mexico.
- The organization has become the subject of several documentaries, such as Cartel Land, Locked Up Abroad, The Shabu Trap, Clandestino and several others. The cartel is also frequently reported on and mentioned in Vice News articles and documentaries.[210] In December 2020, part of the cartel's illicit fentanyl operations were covered by National Geographic's Mariana van Zeller in a series she hosts called Trafficked.[88]
- The best-known leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, has been portrayed in various films and series (such as the Univision series titled El Chapo),[211] books (such as Confessions of a Cartel Hit Man)[212] and music;[213] most notoriously in Narcocorridos[214][215][216][217][218] but also in American rap & hip hop songs.[213][219][220] Many different kinds of merchandise and clothing sold in Mexico (particularly in Sinaloa) come bearing the number or logo "701" which comes from a Forbes listing in 2009 that ranked El Chapo as the 701st richest person in the world. Guzmán was also reportedly a fan of the narconovela known as La Reina del Sur which starred Mexican actress Kate del Castillo. Ms. del Castillo was first approached by Guzmán's lawyers in 2014,[221] after she published an open letter to Guzmán in 2012 in which she expressed her sympathy and requested him to "traffic in love" instead of in drugs; Guzmán reached out again to del Castillo after his 2015 prison escape,[222][223] and allegedly sought to cooperate with her in making a film about his life.[221][224]
American actor Sean Penn heard about the connection with Mexican actress Kate del Castillo through a mutual acquaintance, and asked if he might come along to do an interview.[225] Guzmán had a close call in early October 2015, several days after the meeting with Penn and Kate del Castillo.[226][222] An unnamed Mexican official confirmed that the meeting helped authorities locate Guzmán,[227] with cell phone interceptions and information from American authorities[226] directing Mexican Marines to a ranch near Tamazula, Durango, in the Sierra Madre mountains in western Mexico.[228] The raid on the ranch was met with heavy gunfire and Guzmán was able to flee. The Attorney General of México declared that "El Chapo ran away through a gully and, although he was found by a helicopter, he was with two women and a girl and it was decided not to shoot".[229][230] The two women were later revealed to be Guzmán's personal chefs, who had traveled with him to multiple safe houses. At one point, Guzmán reportedly carried a child on his arms "obscuring himself as a target".[226]
- The origins of the Sinaloa Cartel as well as its founding members have also been portrayed in the Netflix crime drama series Narcos: Mexico.
- The Netflix series Queen of the South depicts fictional events dealing with the Sinaloa Cartel and its interconnections with the US drug smuggling.
- Bruce Springsteen's song, "Sinaloa Cowboys", appears on his 1995 album The Ghost of Tom Joad. It tells the story of two Mexican brothers who become involved with the Sinaloa Cartel.
- In the Netflix series Ozark, the Sinaloa Cartel are portrayed as the main rivals of the fictional Navarro cartel in an ongoing war.
- The Sinaloa Cartel are the main antagonists of 2018 film The Mule, starring Clint Eastwood (See: Leo Sharp). In this film, the cartel is led by Latón (Andy Garcia) and later by Gustavo (Clifton Collins Jr.), Latón's murderer.
- In Tom Clancy's 2011 novel Against All Enemies, the cartel is led by Ernesto "El Matador" Zuñiga, a brutal and powerful Mexican drug lord and rival of Jorge Rojas, the leader of the Juarez Cartel and the main antagonist of Against All Enemies.
- On Late Night with Seth Meyers (2022), John Oliver jokingly praised the quality of the Sinaloa Cartel's cocaine.[231]
In addition to television and film, the cartel's former leader “El Chapo” is a popular point of discussion in rap music, particularly growing notoriety after his 2014 capture after escaping prison in 2001.[232] Several songs reference or depict El Chapo, often portraying him as a larger-than-life figure or focusing on his criminal activities. Most notable songs include:
- "El Chapo" by The Game featuring Skrillex: This song, released in 2015, directly references El Chapo in its title. The lyrics touch on themes of power, influence, and the dangerous lifestyle associated with drug cartels.
- "El Chapo" by Casino, Future, and Young Scooter: Also released in 2015, the song features the three artists rapping about themes related to the infamous Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, referencing his criminal lifestyle, power, and influence.
See also
- Battle of Culiacán (Culiacanazo)
- Illegal drug trade in Latin America
- Guadalajara Cartel
- Ismael Zambada García
- Jardines del Humaya
- Joaquín Guzmán Loera
- Leo Sharp
- Maritime drug trafficking in Latin America
- Mexican Drug War
- Timeline of the Mexican drug war
Notes
References
- ^ a b c Beith, Malcolm (2010). "The Godfather". The Last Narco: Inside the Hunt for El Chapo, the World's Most Wanted Drug Lord. New York: Grove Press. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-8021-1952-0. Archived from the original on 26 July 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023. Alt URL
- ^ "Mexican drug cartel infiltrates Australia". ABC. 15 September 2010. Archived from the original on 8 March 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ Welch, Dylan (2 January 2011). "Police fear spread of Mexican drug cartel violence". The Age. Melbourne. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d Freeman, Laurie. State of Siege:Drug-Related Violence and Corruption in Mexico (PDF). Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 November 2006.
- ^ "El cártel de Sinaloa, una alianza de sangre". El Universal (in Spanish). 30 July 2010. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
- ^ Rama, Anahi (7 April 2008). "Mexico blames Gulf cartel for surge in drug murders". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
- ^ The lattermost after the coast of Mexico from which it originated.
- ^ Beittel, June S. (7 June 2022). "Mexico: Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Organizations" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "Sinaloa Cartel". Archived from the original on 8 August 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
- ^ "Why are the Sinaloa Cartel the World's Most Powerful Gangsters?". International Business Times UK. 16 September 2014. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Beith, Malcolm (2010). The Last Narco. Grove Press. ISBN 978-0-8021-1952-0.
- ^ a b c Bailey, John J.; Godson, Roy (2000). Organized Crime and Democratic Governability: Mexico and the U.S.-Mexican Borderlands. Univ of Pittsburgh Press. p. 146. ISBN 0-8229-5758-2.
- ^ a b c Logan, Samuel. "Tracking the Sinaloa Federation's International Presence". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
- ^ a b c d Pelcastre, Julieta (12 May 2021). "Mexican Narcotrafficking Cartels Expand their Control in Colombia". Diálogo Americas. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ a b "Sinaloa Cartel". InSight Crime. 4 May 2021. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d Mallory, Stephen L (2007). Understanding Organized Crime. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 67. ISBN 978-0-7637-4108-2.
- ^ Chokshi, Niraj (26 February 2014). "Where 7 Mexican drug cartels are active within the U.S." The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ^ "Why the Jalisco Cartel Does Not Dominate Mexico's Criminal Landscape". 11 June 2020. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ "Mexico's Sinaloa gang grows empire, defies crackdown". Reuters. 19 January 2011. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2011.
- ^ Tracking Mexico's Cartels in 2018 Archived 5 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Scott Stewart, Stratfor Tactical Analysis. 1 February 2018.
- ^ a b Verza, Maria; Sherman, Christopher (5 January 2022). "Mexico nabs son of drug lord 'El Chapo' before Biden visit". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
- ^ "Top leaders of powerful Sinaloa drug cartel arrested in Texas". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ a b McRae, Patricia B. (1998). "Reconceptualizing the Illegal Narcotics Trade and Its Effect on the Colombian and the Mexican State". Muhlenberg College – Department of Political Science. Historical Text Archive. Archived from the original on 4 March 2003. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
- ^ "Narco historias sonorenses". Archived from the original on 5 February 2009.
- ^ Boudreaux, Richard (5 July 2005). "Mexico's Master of Elusion". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ a b Shannon, Elaine (1988). Desperados: Latin drug lords, U.S. lawmen, and the war America can't win. New York: Viking. ISBN 978-0-670-81026-0.
- ^ a b Rohter, Larry (16 April 1989). "In Mexico, Drug Roots Run Deep". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 26 June 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "United States of America v. Felipe de Jesus Corona Verbera" (PDF). United States Court of Appeals. 7 December 2007. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
- ^ Edmonds-Poli & Shirk 2009, p. 262.
- ^ Ávalos, Héctor Silva (27 March 2017). "Ismael Zambada García, alias 'El Mayo'". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ Shamsian, Jacob. "Here's the story behind 'El Mayo' Zambada, the man El Chapo says was the real boss behind the Sinaloa Cartel". Insider. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ a b McCaul, Michael T. (9 January 2008). "A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border" (PDF). Majority Staff of the House Committee on Homeland Security. pp. 12, 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2008.
- ^ a b c d "Joaquin Guzman-Loera". Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
- ^ a b "Sinaloa Cartel Leader Possibly Dead". Newschannel 5 KRGV. 28 March 2008. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
- ^ DeGregory, Priscilla; Eustachewich, Lia (15 November 2018). "Testimony reveals secrets of El Chapo's wild prison break". New York Post. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d Crosthwaite, Luis Humberto (2002). Puro Border: Dispatches, Snapshots & Graffiti from La Frontera. Cinco Puntos Press. p. 115. ISBN 0-938317-59-8.
- ^ a b Gray, Mike (2000). Drug Crazy: How We Got into This Mess and How We Can Get Out. Routledge. p. 136. ISBN 0-415-92647-5.
- ^ a b DePalma, Anthony (2001). Here: A Biography of the New American Continent. PublicAffairs. p. 23. ISBN 1-891620-83-5.
- ^ a b Warnock, John W. (1995). The Other Mexico: The North American Triangle Completed. Black Rose Books Ltd. p. 230. ISBN 1-55164-028-7.
- ^ "Tijuana Cartel Profile". 27 March 2017. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ^ "Mexico's 7 Most Notorious Drug Cartels". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ^ "Mexico's Drug War: Sinaloa Federation". Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2016.
- ^ Grayson, George W. (August 2007). "Mexico and the Drug Cartels". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
- ^ "HSBC money-laundering scandal casts a cloud over Lord Green, the trade minister". the Daily Telegraph. London. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
- ^ "Mexican drug gang killings surge". BBC News. 9 December 2008. Archived from the original on 16 February 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ "Data Center". JUSTICE IN MEXICO. Archived from the original on 3 July 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
- ^ "U.S. Says Threat of Mexican Drug Cartels Approaching 'Crisis Proportions'". Fox News. 3 March 2009. Archived from the original on 18 May 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
- ^ "Zambada Plea Deal" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 10 November 2018.
- ^ "Treasury Designates Sinaloa Cartel Plaza Bosses". U.S. Department of the Treasury. Office of Foreign Assets Control. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
- ^ Copeland, Larry; Johnson, Kevin (9 March 2009). "Mexican cartels plague Atlanta". USA Today. Archived from the original on 17 January 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ Mollenkamp, Carrick (12 December 2012). "HSBC became bank to drug cartels, pays big for lapses". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ^ Pachico, Elyssa. "Sinaloa Cartel Bought Narco Plane Via HSBC Bank". Archived from the original on 26 September 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ^ Vardi, Nathan (12 December 2012). "Forget The Drug Dealers And Iran, HSBC Is Having A Great Year". Forbes. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
- ^ Castillo, Mariano (15 February 2013). "Chicago's new Public Enemy No. 1: 'El Chapo'". CNN. Archived from the original on 2 June 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
- ^ "Probing Ties Between Mexican Cartel And Chicago's Violence". Morning Edition. NPR. 17 September 2013. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- ^ a b Suerte-Felipe, Cecille (27 December 2013). "Mexican drug cartel now in Phl – PDEA". The Philippine Star. Philstar. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Adel, Rosette (4 August 2016). "Mexico drug cartel actively operating in Philippines, says Duterte". The Philippine Star. Philstar. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Bencito, John Paolo (4 August 2016). "Du30 blast triad, drug cartel". Manila Standard. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Ejecutan en Chetumal a Juan Ulises Galván Carmona, operador de El Chapo Guzmán". Noticias Chetumal (in Mexican Spanish). 4 July 2019. Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ a b Asmann, Parker (11 July 2019). "Is the Jalisco Cartel Winning the Battle for Mexico's Caribbean?". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 4 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ Samuels, Lennox (21 March 2006). "Lieutenant in Mexican drug cartel a wanted man". The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 21 April 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
- ^ "Mexico arrests 'drug lord' Edgar Valdez". BBC News. 31 August 2010. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
- ^ "Hundreds arrested in cross-country campaigns against cartel". Fox News. 25 February 2009. Archived from the original on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ "DEA arrests 750". Eluniversal.com.mx. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ Ellingwood, Ken (3 March 2009). "Mexico sending more forces to Ciudad Juárez". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
- ^ "Chicago-Based Cell" (Press release). Chicago Field Office, FBI. 20 August 2009. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ "Capturan al primo del 'Chapo' Guzmán en Sinaloa". Esmas.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ "Treasury Designates Sinaloa Cartel Plaza Bosses" (Press release). United States Treasury Department. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ^ "Suspect in Mexican Activist's Killing Arrested". Latin American Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ^ "High-ranking Sinaloa Cartel Member Admits To Drug Trafficking And Violence". U.S. Justice Department. 23 July 2015. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- ^ a b "Mexican Drug Cartels: Government Progress and Growing Violence". STRATFOR Global Intelligence. 11 December 2008. Archived from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 25 August 2009.
- ^ GMA News: "Mexican drug cartel penetrates PHL; PDEA raids lab in Lipa City" 26 December 2013
- ^ a b "El Chapo, Escaped Mexican Drug Lord, Is Recaptured in Gun Battle". The New York Times. 9 January 2016. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
- ^ Lyman, Michael D. (2010). Drugs in Society: Causes, Concepts and Control. Elsevier. p. 536. ISBN 978-1-4377-4450-7.
- ^ "Sinaloa Cartel Succession in Mexico: More Political Intrigue than Violence". InSight Crime. 27 March 2017. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ Michael Vigil, "The Structure and Psychology of Drug Cartels" Archived 24 July 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Cipher Brief, 15 June 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2023
- ^ Oppenheimer, Andres (1996). Bordering on Chaos: Guerrillas, Stockbrokers, Politicians, and Mexico's Road to Prosperity. Little Brown & Co. pp. 298, 202, 300. ISBN 0-316-65095-1.
- ^ Major Mexican Drug Trafficker's Assets in U.S. Frozen Archived 16 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Mexican drug lord killed in raid, officials say". CNN. 29 July 2010. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2010.
- ^ Winslow, Don (8 January 2016). "'El Chapo's' capture: Is the mission really accomplished?". CNN News. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- ^ a b c ""Va a caer antes de que muera de viejo", la advertencia de Mike Vigil a Caro Quintero, "el Narco de Narcos"". 24 June 2020. Archived from the original on 2 September 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
- ^ Margaritoff, Marco (2 October 2021). "Meet El Mayo, The Shadowy Leader Of El Chapo's Cartel Who's Never Been Caught". All That's Interesting. Archived from the original on 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
- ^ "Journalist finds evidence of narco-pact between Sinaloa Cartel, Morena". Mexico News Daily. 7 June 2022. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "US: Mexico extradites Ovidio Guzmán López, son of Sinaloa cartel leader 'El Chapo,' to United States". AP News. 16 September 2023. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ "Top leaders of powerful Sinaloa drug cartel arrested in Texas". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
- ^ a b Reel, Monte (3 August 2015). "Annals of Excavation: Underworld- How the Sinaloa Cartel digs its tunnels". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ a b "CRS Report for Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. 16 October 2007. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Narco Wars | Mexico's First Cartel Online" (video). National Geographic. 17 December 2020. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "The Drug Situation in the Chicago Field Division" (PDF). www.dea.gov. 11 November 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
- ^ "U.S. charges 10 accused Mexican drug cartel leaders". The Washington Post. Reuters. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
- ^ "Colombia Survey 2014: UNODC study shows significant increase in coca leaf production in high density areas". United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2 July 2015. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ^ "Colombia Is Growing Record Amounts Of Coca, The Key Ingredient In Cocaine". NPR. 22 October 2018. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ^ Uribe, Meta (6 July 2019). "Cocaine production in Colombia is at historic highs". The Economist. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
- ^ a b Posada, Juan Diego (30 July 2021). "Colombia's Cocaine Keeps On Reaching New Heights: UNODC Report". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
- ^ a b "60 Charged in San Diego-based Sinaloa Cartel Meth Investigation". Borderland Beat. 30 June 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ a b "Major multi-million meth bust alarms Atlanta DEA agents". 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- ^ a b c "Drug cartels stealing millions of gallons of water for marijuana grows in Antelope Valley: Officials". 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ a b "Nearly 7 Tons of Marijuana Seized from Suspected Cartel Grow Sites in Monterey County, California". Borderland Beat. 23 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ a b c "LA County's Largest Drug Bust in History Involves Suspected Mexican Cartels". Borderland Beat. 11 June 2021. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
- ^ Lopez, Torres (23 September 2020). "Mapa de cárteles del narco en México según Inteligencia Financiera". Axency (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
- ^ "Hacienda" (in Spanish). Government of Mexico. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2021. [full citation needed]
- ^ "Ivan Archivaldo and Alfredo Guzmán's Top Lieutenants". Borderland Beat. 29 May 2022. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ "Venezuela apunta al Cártel de Sinaloa: capturó a miembros de la organización criminal en enfrentamiento fronterizo". infobae (in Spanish). 10 April 2021. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
- ^ "2015 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary" (PDF). Drug Enforcement Administration. United States Department of Justice: Drug Enforcement Administration. October 2015. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
Mexican TCOs pose the greatest criminal drug threat to the United States; no other group is currently positioned to challenge them. These Mexican poly-drug organizations traffic heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana throughout the United States, using established transportation routes and distribution networks. ..While all of these Mexican TCOs transport wholesale quantities of illicit drugs into the United States, the Sinaloa Cartel appears to be the most active supplier. The Sinaloa Cartel leverages its expansive resources and dominance in Mexico to facilitate the smuggling and transportation of drugs throughout the United States.
- ^ a b EndPlay (18 February 2015). "Heroin bringing violent Mexican drug cartels to Western..." KIRO. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ "Charges: Cartel used Minnesota house for drugs, torture". Archived from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ Fairbanks, Phil (23 August 2017). "New indictment ups the ante for WNY drug network linked to Mexican cartel". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
- ^ Laurent, Anne; Rivers, Matt; Katersky, Aaron (5 January 2023). "Ovidio Guzman, son of El Chapo and alleged major fentanyl trafficker, arrested in Mexico". ABC News. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
- ^ "Chapo's rise: From poor, abused to cartel kingpin". USA Today. 28 February 2014. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ Miller, Majorie (25 May 1993). "Mexico Cardinal Slain; Caught in Gun Battle : Violence: 6 others are killed at Guadalajara airport. Rival narcotics traffickers are believed responsible". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ Rotella, Sebastian (20 September 1994). "2 San Diego Suspects in Cardinal's Slaying Ordered Extradited". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ a b Rotella, Sebastian (19 June 1993). "U.S. Seizes Land at Border Near Unfinished Drug Tunnel : Narcotics: Agents believe San Diego lot was the destination of passage from Mexico. Investigators are seeking a Tijuana businessman who owned the parcel". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ Rotella, Sebastian (4 June 1993). "DEA Couldn't Verify Tips on Drug Tunnel". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- ^ Mosendz, Polly (15 October 2015). "DRUG TUNNELS ALONG THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER: HIGH COSTS, HIGH REWARDS". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 5 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- ^ "Border tunnels: Complete list of those found". San Diego Union-Tribune. 31 October 2013. Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
- ^ Perez U., Matilde (17 June 2002). "Ejidatarios exigen pago justo por tierra expropiada en BC- El aeropuerto internacional de Tijuana ocupa la superficie". La Jornada. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ Public Affairs, DEA (26 January 2006). "DEA/ICE Uncover "Massive" Cross-Border Drug Tunnel Cement lined passage thought to link warehouses in Tijuana and Otay Mesa". United States Drug Enforcement Administration. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- ^ Marosi, Richard (31 January 2006). "A Straight Shot Into ... Mexico'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ a b Soto, Onell; Berestein, Leslie (27 January 2006). "2,400-foot tunnel 'beats them all' -Builders of passage were well-funded, investigators say". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ^ "Major cross-border drug tunnel discovered south of San Diego" (Press release). Department of Homeland Security. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 15 November 2011. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- ^ Castro, Rosario; Ramirez, Saul (13 July 2012). "Quitan túneles y droga a la mafia en BC-Decomisan 40 toneladas de marihuana". ZETA Tijuana. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ^ Marosi, Richard (22 October 2015). "Raid on U.S.-Mexico drug tunnel: 22 arrests, at least 12 tons of pot seized". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ^ Betanzos, Said (29 May 2015). "Hallan Otro Narcotunel Cerca del Aeropuerto". El Mexicano. Archived from the original on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ^ "Second Major Cross-Border Drug Tunnel Discovered South of San Diego This Month- Investigators seize 32 tons of marijuana, arrest 6 suspects". United States Drug Enforcement Administration. 30 November 2011. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ Dibble, Sandra (30 November 2011). "Elaborate drug tunnel yields record pot seizure- More than 32 tons recovered in the United States and Mexico". San Diego Union Tribune. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ "El túnel de México a EU para transportar droga tenía un elevador y rieles". CNNMexico. 30 November 2011. Archived from the original on 29 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
- ^ McDonnell, Patrick; Linthicum, Kate; Wilber, Del Quentin (19 January 2017). "Drug lord 'El Chapo' extradited to the U.S." Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 18 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ Woody, Christopher. "Mexican authorities busted 2 more cross-border tunnels possibly built by the Sinaloa cartel". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ Bacon, John (14 December 2016). "Sophisticated drug cartel tunnel from San Diego to Mexico found". USA Today. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
- ^ Moran, Greg; Dibble, Sandra (22 June 2017). "Woman linked to cartel kingpin 'El Chapo' arrested at San Diego border, charged in drug conspiracy". San Diego Union Trinune. Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
- ^ "Zacatecas: Grupo Flechas Burns Alive A Jalisco Operative". Borderland Beat. 29 July 2021. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Grupo Flechas del Mayo Zambada asegura que fueron 43 las bajas del CJNG tras batalla". La Opinión (in European Spanish). ILa Opinión. 15 April 2021. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ ""Los Cabrera", el temible brazo armado del Cártel de Sinaloa". La Silla Rota (in European Spanish). 16 June 2021. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Quiénes son los Cabrera: el brazo armado del "Mayo" Zambada que pelea por Durango y Zacatecas contra el CJNG". infobae (in European Spanish). 28 October 2020. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Quién es el "Ruso", el sicario del "Mayo" Zambada que está en la mira de los "Chapitos"". infobae (in European Spanish). 11 November 2020. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ Crime, InSight (2 July 2020). "Los Chapitos". InSight Crime. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
- ^ "Narco Funeral Draws Attention to Los Salazar in Mexico". InSight Crime. 20 August 2019. Archived from the original on 24 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ "Quiénes son Los Salazar, los lugartenientes del Cártel de Sinaloa detrás de la trágica muerte de un niño en Sonora". infobae (in European Spanish). 13 September 2019. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ "CDS El Mayo Troops Show Support for El Rodo's Independent Cartel in Nuevo León". Borderland Beat. 17 September 2021. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ a b "International Narcotics Control Strategy Report – 2008". Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. March 2008. Archived from the original on 29 June 2019. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
- ^ "Six Colombian Nationals Plead Guilty To Conspiracy To Use "Narco-Submarines" To Smuggle Over 19,000 Kilograms Of Cocaine To The Sinaloa Cartel". www.justice.gov. 13 September 2021. Archived from the original on 26 September 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
- ^ "Journalist Peter R. de Vries shot in the head. Hypothesis of mafia ambush". 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "Field Report: the Netherlands as a narcostate and the emergence of a methamphetamine industry". 27 May 2021. Archived from the original on 4 November 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ "The cocaine pipeline to Europe" (PDF). February 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 December 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ Mcconnell, Dr. Keiron. "Vancouver Gang Violence: A HISTORICAL ANALYSIS". Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
- ^ "Cartel connection: How Mexico's drug gangs set up shop in Vancouver". vancouversun. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
- ^ ""Cártel de Sinaloa" se alía con mafia albanesa". El Universal (in Spanish). 15 September 2022. Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Mexico's Sinaloa cartel has reportedly teamed up with a Romanian gang to ship drugs to the UK". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
- ^ "'El Chapo' conspires with Chinese mafias to produce synthetic drugs in Latin America". Digital Military Magazine. 19 February 2014. Archived from the original on 15 February 2016. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
- ^ Rotella, Sebastian; Berg, Kirsten (11 October 2022). "How a Chinese American Gangster Transformed Money Laundering for Drug Cartels". ProPublica. Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ "US accuses Chinese 'underground bankers' of laundering $50m in cartel drug money". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 18 June 2024. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
- ^ "Mexico's Drug War: A Rigged Fight?". NPR. 19 May 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
- ^ Burnett, John; Peñaloza, Marisa; Benincasa, Robert (19 May 2010). "Mexico Seems To Favor Sinaloa Cartel in Drug War". NPR. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ^ "Eastern District of New York | Ex-Mexican Secretary of Public Security Genaro Garcia Luna Convicted of Engaging in a Continuing Criminal Enterprise and Taking Millions in Cash Bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 21 February 2023. Archived from the original on 4 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ Roston, Aram (1 January 2012). "'El Chapo' Guzman, Mexico's Most Powerful Drug Lord". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 18 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ Gómora, Doris (6 January 2014). "La guerra Secreta de la DEA En Mexico". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 27 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ Kelley, Michael (13 January 2014). "CONFIRMED: The DEA Struck A Deal With Mexico's Most Notorious Drug Cartel". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ Kelley, Michael (1 October 2012). "Mexican Diplomat Says America Pretty Much Invited The Sinaloa Drug Cartel Across The Border". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ Arsenault, Chris (24 July 2012). "Mexican official: CIA 'manages' drug trade". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ "- YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on 1 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ Cosentino, Elena. "The making of... Secrets of Mexico's Drug War". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- ^ "Secrets of Mexico's Drug War". BBC News. Archived from the original on 13 March 2015. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ^ McGahan, Jason (1 July 2015). "How a Dogged L.A. DEA Agent Unraveled the CIA's Alleged Role in the Murder of Kiki Camarena - LA Weekly". www.laweekly.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "Documentary alleges US involvement in 1985 death of DEA agent". cbs8.com. 10 August 2020. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ a b Green, Eric (19 February 2004). "U.S. Arrests Alleged Mastermind of Mexico-Arizona Drug Tunnel". U.S. Department of State.
- ^ a b Grillo, Ioan (2011). El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency. Mexico: Bloomsbury Press. ISBN 978-1608192113.
- ^ Meiners, Stephen (26 March 2009). "Central America: An Emerging Role in the Drug Trade". Stratfor Global Intelligence. Archived from the original on 1 April 2009. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Corridor of Violence: The Guatemala-Honduras Border". www.crisisgroup.org. International Crisis Group. 4 June 2014. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Choneros". InSight Crime. 4 October 2021. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ "Venezuela's Move to Cocaine Production: Crops, Chemists and Criminal Evolution". InSight Crime. 2 June 2022. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ "Venezuela, From Transit Country to Cocaine Producer". Borderland Beat. 14 March 2023. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ "Beyond the Cartel of the Suns". InSight Crime. 2 June 2022. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Nearly 10 Tons of Cocaine and Weapons Bound for Mexico and the US Seized in Ecuador". Borderland Beat. 15 August 2021. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ "Cops Just Seized Nearly 9 Tons of Cocaine Hidden in Bananas". Vice World News. Vice. 28 February 2023. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Multiple Homicides in Ecuador After Record Drug Seizure". Borderland Beat. 21 August 2021. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "GameChangers 2021: No End in Sight for Ecuador's Downward Spiral". InSight Crime. 24 December 2021. Archived from the original on 16 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ Prendido, Sol (15 September 2021). "A Secret Look At A Mexican Cartel's Low-Tech, Multimillion-Dollar Fentanyl Operation". Borderland Beat. Archived from the original on 17 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ Mavrellis, Channing; Cassara, John (27 October 2022). "Made in China: China's Role in Transnational Crime and Illicit Financial Flows" (PDF). Global Financial Integrity. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ Brunton, Laurence; Chabner, Bruce; Knollman, Bjorn (20 December 2010). Goodman and Gilman's The Pharmacological Basis of Therapeutics, Twelfth Edition. McGraw Hill Professional. ISBN 978-0-07-162442-8. Archived from the original on 13 January 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ Katzung, Bertram G. (30 November 2017). Basic and Clinical Pharmacology 14th Edition. McGraw Hill Professional. ISBN 978-1-259-64116-9. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Latest news from around the world | The Guardian". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 August 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ "Fentanyl DrugFacts". National Institute on Drug Abuse. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 1 June 2021. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ a b c "Consumption Of Fentanyl, The Drug That Is 50 Times Stronger Than Heroin, Grows In Northern Mexico". Borderland Beat. 22 August 2022. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2022.
- ^ "Feds say San Diego region 'epicenter' of fentanyl trafficking into U.S." CBS8 San Diego. 11 August 2022. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Southern District of California | Fentanyl Seizures at Border Continue to Spike, Making San Diego a National Epicenter for Fentanyl Trafficking; U.S. Attorney's Office Prioritizes Prosecutions and Prevention Programs | United States Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. USDOJ. 11 August 2022. Archived from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ The Drug Enforcement Administration (30 August 2022). "DEA Warns of Brightly-Colored Fentanyl Used to Target Young Americans". Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations' New Marijuana Strategies". InSight Crime. 6 December 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ "The Sinaloa Cartel is losing its marijuana business, and El Chapo's sons are going after the 'premium weed' market to make up for it". Business Insider. 13 December 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ "The Sinaloa cartel's 'narco juniors' have big plans for marijuana, and they're borrowing ideas from California's dispensaries". Business Insider. 27 December 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ "Mexico's Sinaloa cartel allegedly used shipments of new Ford cars to smuggle meth to Canada". Insider. 1 March 2019. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ a b c "Methamphetamine Taking Over Mexico's Domestic Drug Market". InSight Crime. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ a b "Guanajuato: Crystal Meth Consumption Has Increased 2,400 Percent". Borderland Beat. 28 June 2021. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ a b c "The United States is Now Meth Country". InSight Crime. 27 April 2021. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ a b c "Meth, Fentanyl, Ecstasy: Synthetic Drugs Flourish in Latin America". InSight Crime. 12 September 2022. Archived from the original on 8 June 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- ^ Felbab-Brown, Vanda (2 September 2022). "The foreign policies of the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG — Part IV: Europe's cocaine and meth markets". Brookings. Archived from the original on 17 March 2023. Retrieved 25 November 2023 – via www.brookings.edu.
- ^ a b c "Sinaloa State Dominates Fentanyl and Meth Production in Mexico". InSight Crime. 10 June 2022. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- ^ a b c "Historical overview of methamphetamine". Vermont Department of Health. Government of Vermont. Archived from the original on 19 April 2012. Retrieved 29 January 2012.
- ^ a b c "Mexico's precursor chemical controls: Emergence of less potent types of methamphetamine in the United States (2012)". Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
- ^ National Drug Intelligence Center. "Methamphetamine". U. S. Department of Justice. Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ "Army Secures 1.2 Tons Of Methamphetamine In Cosalá, Sinaloa". Borderland Beat. 28 February 2023. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ Otto Snow (2002). Amphetamine syntheses. Thoth Press. ISBN 978-0-9663128-3-6. p. 90.
- ^ ""Investigation of the origin of ephedrine and methamphetamine by stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry: a Japanese experience" (PDF)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ Uncle Fester. Secrets of methamphetamine manufacture (8 ed.). Festering Publications. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
- ^ Owen, Frank (2007). "Chapter 1: The Rise of Nazi Dope". No Speed Limit: The Highs and Lows of Meth. Macmillan. pp. 17–18. ISBN 978-0-312-35616-3.
- ^ "Types of Labs". Archived from the original on 27 August 2009.
- ^ a b c d Beittel, June S. (7 June 2022). "Mexico: Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking Organizations" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ Trejo, Guillermo; Ley, Sandra (3 September 2020). Votes, Drugs, and Violence: The Political Logic of Criminal Wars in Mexico. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-84174-0. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ a b Valdez, Diana Washington (4 July 2012). "Ioan Grillo: El Narco: Inside Mexico's Criminal Insurgency". Trends in Organized Crime. 16 (2): 239–241. doi:10.1007/s12117-012-9169-x. ISSN 1084-4791. S2CID 255508008. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ Couto, Andrew (22 April 2013). "Mexican Drug Cartels: Significance and Potential Impact on the United States". Senior Honors Theses. Archived from the original on 19 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "Vice Media Documentaries Sinaloa Cartel - Google Search". www.google.com. Google Search. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ Blistein, Jon (26 January 2017). "Univision, Netflix 'El Chapo' Series Sets April Premiere". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 21 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ Connelly, Sherryl (15 July 2017). "Executioner for Sinaloa rival details how he almost took out El Capo in 'Confessions of a Cartel Hit Man'". New York Daily News.
- ^ a b Shoichet, Catherine E.; Melvin, Don; Castillo, Mariano (12 July 2015). "The legend of 'El Chapo': Hiding in plain sight?". CNN. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
- ^ "La segunda fuga de Joaquín 'el Chapo' Guzmán ya tiene dos narcocorridos". CNN (in Spanish). Mexico. 13 July 2015. Archived from the original on 16 August 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ "De Lupillo Rivera a Regulo… los corridos sobre la fuga de 'El Chapo'". Excélsior (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ "12 narcos y sus corridos (Canciones de sangre, violencia y crimen)". chilango.com (in Spanish). 9 October 2014. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ "11 narcocorridos que inspiró Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán". People en Espanol (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ "El Comandante Antrax". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ "The Game y Skrillex acaban de lanzar una canción dedicada al Chapo". NOISEY (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ Televisa TIM. "No sólo corridos, 'El Chapo' también tiene su hip hop". Televisa Entretenimiento (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
- ^ a b Littleton, Cynthia; Hopewell, John (10 January 2016). "Kate del Castillo: Meet the Star Playing a Big Part in El Chapo's Real-Life Drama". Variety. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ a b "El Chapo Guzman: Extradition to US could take 'at least year'". CNN News. 11 January 2015. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ "El Chapo Guzmán, 'World's Most Powerful Drug Trafficker,' Receives Special Request From Mexican Actress, Kate Del Castillo". The Huffington Post. 1 November 2012. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- ^ Penn, Sean (9 January 2016). "El Chapo Speaks". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 26 July 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ Sean Penn Met With ‘El Chapo’ for Interview in His Hide-Out Archived 12 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Ravi Somaiya, The New York Times. 9 January 2016.
- ^ a b c Ahmed, Azam (16 January 2016). "The Manhunt for the Drug Kingpin El Chapo". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "'El Chapo' Guzman: Sean Penn interview provokes US scorn". BBC. 10 January 2016. Archived from the original on 10 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ Castillo, E. Eduardo; Corcoran, Katherine (10 January 2016). "Sean Penn interview helped locate drug lord". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ "Cellphone Signals Suggest 'El Chapo' Hid in Mexican Mountains: Sources". NBC News. 14 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
- ^ "'El Chapo' en el momento de la detención: "¡Pinches federales, ya nos atraparon!"". El Mundo. 9 January 2016. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
- ^ Squires, Bethy (4 March 2022). "Ben Warheit's McRib Monologue Won Late Night This Week". Vulture. Archived from the original on 13 November 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
- ^ "Joaquin Guzman-Loera (Captured)". United States Department of State. Archived from the original on 9 December 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
Sources
- Edmonds-Poli, Emily; Shirk, David A. (2009). Contemporary Mexican Politics. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0742540491.
External links
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://178.128.105.246/content-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Wikinews-logo.svg/40px-Wikinews-logo.svg.png)
- Sinaloa Cartel profile on InSight Crime
- Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman-Loera on America's Most Wanted
- Jose Espinoza—The "Leonardo da Vinci" of the Sinaloa Cartel—San Francisco Chronicle—1 November 2009:
- Why Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel Loves Selling Drugs in Chicago, Chicago magazine, October 2013
- Money laundering takedown
- Sinaloa Cartel
- 1988 establishments in Mexico
- Drug cartels in Mexico
- Gangs in Alabama
- Gangs in Arizona
- Gangs in California
- Gangs in Los Angeles
- Gangs in Chicago
- Gangs in Colorado
- Gangs in New York City
- Gangs in Texas
- Gangs in Utah
- Mexican drug war
- Organizations established in 1988
- Organized crime groups in Argentina
- Organized crime groups in Honduras
- Organized crime groups in the United States
- Sinaloa
- Transnational organized crime