The western Mexican state of Sinaloa is home to the country's most powerful and bloody drug cartel. [82][83] Flix 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. They have been known to frequently use American citizens as mules, many of whom have drugs stuffed in passenger vehicles or tractor-trailers. [25] According to the Ombudsman's Office, an autonomous institution under the Colombian Office of the Attorney General; in the first two months of 2021, violent events (augmented by Mexican trafficking groups) displaced more than 11,000 people from their communities within Colombia. Taco Star was noted as suspicious due to payments of more than $200,000 to El Potosino. Sinaloa cartel has two new enemies in Chihuahua. . [citation needed] The organization has also been known to utilize narcosubmarines, boats, ships, trains, helicopters, and cargo planes for their smuggling operations. Working closely with the Honduran Juan Ramon Matta Ballesteros, the men came into contact with Colombia's Medelln Cartel. Today, the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacin CJNG), is the Sinaloa Cartel's primary enemy. The characteristics of the system are strategies . [65], 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. [95] 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. Some sources indicate the escape of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in July, for example, showed how the Jalisco Cartel - New . [115] In this northern regional area of illicit production (See: clandestine chemistry), several important cities in its production and trade, such as Culiacn, Tijuana, Ensenada and San Luis Ro Colorado consistently see the highest amount of law enforcement seizures for fentanyl, typically in kilograms (powder) or pressed pills. [157] The presence of the cartel in the Philippines has worsened the ongoing war between drug lords, drug cartels and the government in that country. It was established in Mexico during the late 1980s as one of a various number of subordinate plazas" operating under a predecessor organization known as the Guadalajara Cartel. Jesus BustamanteReuters. 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. The Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan areas are major trans-shipment and distribution points for the cartel in the US. After the assassination of Cardinal Juan Jess Posadas Ocampo and six others at the Guadalajara airport on 24 May 1993,[123] the gunmen boarded a commercial jet. [84] By the mid-1990s, according to one court opinion, it was believed to be the size of the Medelln Cartel during its prime and has continued to grow to become one of the worlds largest criminal syndicates with widely diverse international connections. [62][63][64] As of 2023[update], the Sinaloa Cartel is overall the most active drug cartel involved in smuggling illicit drugs into the United States and trafficking them throughout the country. It is based in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa. The rivalry between the two cartels dates back to the Miguel ngel Flix Gallardo setup of Palma's family. Rival narcotics traffickers are believed responsible", "2 San Diego Suspects in Cardinal's Slaying Ordered Extradited", "U.S. Seizes Land at Border Near Unfinished Drug Tunnel: Narcotics: Agents believe San Diego lot was the destination of passage from Mexico. McDermotts words were republished around the world,, Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafo, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. El Chapo maintained some control from prison, passing messages through his lawyers. by Luis Chaparro March 10, 2022, 5:58pm 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 Beltrn Leyva, who led a splinter group from the Sinaloa cartel. [65] Most of the precursors required to synthesize fentanyl and its analogues come from China where it is then processed into actual fentanyl by criminal organizations in Mexico. A 2020 report prepared by the Congressional Research Service says the cartel originated in . [97] According to the U.S. Attorney General, the Sinaloa Cartel was responsible for importing into the United States and distributing nearly 200 short tons (180t) of cocaine and large amounts of heroin between 1990 and 2008. Their leaders included Rafael Caro Quintero, Miguel ngel Flix Gallardo and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo. The group has expanded rapidly . Battles between the Sinoloa and Los Zetas cartels have left a bloody legacy in the streets of Nuevo Leon. [51][58][186] Following the 2003 arrest of Gulf Cartel leader Osiel Crdenas Guilln, it is believed the Sinaloa Cartel moved 200 men into the region to battle the Gulf Cartel for control. This growing of the organization as well as the killing of Rasquia and the increasing importance of Ecuador in the illegal cocaine trade has given way to the recent crime waves in the region. [105][106][107], During the 2000s and possibly still today, it is believed that a group known as the Herrera Organization would transport multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America to Guatemala on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel. The corrupt cops allegedly had a deal that entitled them to half the value of any drug shipment taken from an opposing cartel thanks to their information. A report from Mexico's National Intelligence Center (Centro Nacional de Inteligencia - CIN) identified three Mexican companies supplying both cartels with these chemicals. Guzmn resumed his command of the Sinaloa Cartel, but on 8 January 2016, Guzmn was captured again during a raid on a home in the city of Los Mochis, in Guzmn's home state of Sinaloa. At one point, Guzmn reportedly carried a child on his arms "obscuring himself as a target". [8][62][16] As mentioned previously, the organization is currently heavily involved in the manufacture and distribution of fentanyl, much of which consists of making and selling counterfeit M30 pills designed to look like pharmaceutical-grade oxycodone pills, but which evidently do not contain any real oxycodone. Members of the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG) record themselves with prisoners from a rival cartel. One of these cartels (called plazas at the time) was Sinaloa, with the city of Culiacn acting as its headquarters. [69], Although the Sinaloa Cartel has traditionally grown and cultivated marijuana locally in the original "Golden Triangle" region of Mexico, the cartel as well as other Mexican cartels have, in recent times, set up large marijuana growing operations in the remote forests and deserts of California where they reportedly have stolen millions of gallons of water for these illegal grows. The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the various drug cartels currently existing in Mexico, but unlike other drug cartels, the Sinaloa Cartel has lasted the longest, was titled the most powerful drug cartel in the world by the U.S. Treasury Department and developed the most sophisticated business system. . The Sinaloa Federation has 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. The latest family member to escape apprehension El Chapo's son, Ovidio Guzmn Lpez managed his own feat of government humiliation this week, when cartel henchmen forced a patrol of at . [92], Guzmn was captured on 22 February 2014, overnight by American and Mexican authorities. The capture of the Sinaloa Cartel's "El Chapo" Guzmn ignited a fight over the trial's location. [47] In this region, black tar heroin has often been referred to as the black goat. The Drug Enforcement Administration considers them to be "the biggest, most powerful drug cartel of all time". They also announced the seizure of more than $59million in cash and numerous vehicles, planes, and boats. [6] 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. Sinaloa cartel, international crime organization that is among the most-powerful drug-trafficking syndicates in the world. According to the Washington Post, the Choneros are said to use their connections to rapidly move cocaine from the Colombian border to the port of Guayaquil. [202] Guzmn had a close call in early October 2015, several days after the meeting with Penn and Kate del Castillo. 1: 'El Chapo', "Probing Ties Between Mexican Cartel And Chicago's Violence", "Mexico drug cartel actively operating in Philippines, says Duterte", "Ejecutan en Chetumal a Juan Ulises Galvn Carmona, operador de El Chapo Guzmn", "Is the Jalisco Cartel Winning the Battle for Mexico's Caribbean? Google Sites. 1. The Sinaloa Cartel's tentacles stretch from New York City to Buenos Aires and almost every major city in between. [54][55][47] It is currently headed by Ismael Zambada Garca and is based in the city of Culiacn, Sinaloa,[56] with operations in many world regions but primarily in the Mexican states of Sinaloa, Baja California, Durango, Sonora, and Chihuahua. The most extensive database on organized crime in the Americas. [179] 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. [102] 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. It's cheap to produce since it is entirely synthetic and can be clandestinely manufactured since unlike marijuana, opium/heroin and coca; it requires no farming, cultivation, sunlight or irrigation. He is considered to have been one of the most powerful . The cartel was founded in Mexico's Sinaloa state and now operates in 17 Mexican states, and by some estimates, in as many as 50 countries. A DEA agent in the same trial alleged that Fierro-Mendez had contacts with a Mexican military officer. [164], On 11 May 2010, Alfonso Gutirrez Loera, cousin of Joaqun Guzmn Loera, and 5 other drug traffickers were arrested after a shootout with Federal Police officers in Culiacan, Sinaloa. We go into the field to interview, report and investigate. I am from durango, in the city meth is legal to use, even the merchants sell meth pipes on the street (no joke) but in some of the cities of the state, meth is illegal, and if you get busted consuming you get beat up, paying a fee, and getting your self in a rehab center, that is a 30 minute difference where meth is illegal and legal. [120] 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. Since then, there has been an internal power struggle between Ismael Zambada Garcia, alias "El Mayo," and El Chapo's sons, known as "Los Chapitos." The cartel has also recently increased their migrant smuggling operations in border regions. [65] 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. Given that El Chapo's conviction in the United States in 2019 landed him in prison for the rest of his life, El Mayo, the only remaining member from the Sinaloa Cartel's old guard, and El Chapo's sons, Joaqun Guzmn Lpez, Ovidio Guzmn Lpez, Ivn Archivaldo and Jess Alfredo, who are also known collectively as "Los Chapitos," are now left to head the general direction of the cartel's operations while it retains its horizontal structure. ", "La segunda fuga de Joaqun 'el Chapo' Guzmn ya tiene dos narcocorridos", "De Lupillo Rivera a Regulo los corridos sobre la fuga de 'El Chapo', "12 narcos y sus corridos (Canciones de sangre, violencia y crimen)", "11 narcocorridos que inspir Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn", "The Game y Skrillex acaban de lanzar una cancin dedicada al Chapo", "No slo corridos, 'El Chapo' tambin tiene su hip hop", "Kate del Castillo: Meet the Star Playing a Big Part in El Chapo's Real-Life Drama", "El Chapo Guzman: Extradition to US could take 'at least year', "El Chapo Guzmn, 'World's Most Powerful Drug Trafficker,' Receives Special Request From Mexican Actress, Kate Del Castillo", Sean Penn Met With El Chapo for Interview in His Hide-Out, "The Manhunt for the Drug Kingpin El Chapo", "Sean Penn interview helped locate drug lord", "Cellphone Signals Suggest 'El Chapo' Hid in Mexican Mountains: Sources", "Ben Warheit's McRib Monologue Won Late Night This Week", Tourists evacuated following shootout between Mexican army and drug hitmen, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman-Loera on America's Most Wanted, Jose EspinozaThe "Leonardo da Vinci" of the Sinaloa Cartel, Why Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel Loves Selling Drugs in Chicago, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sinaloa_Cartel&oldid=1142329266, The Sinaloa Cartel has in both recent and past times; most often been the primary, The organization has become the subject of several documentaries, such as. [121][122] 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. . So strong is the perception that the PAN favors the Sinaloa Cartel that Mexican justice officials issued a press release in 2010 denying it, while the Calderon government produced avideoin 2011 with the same intention. Within Sinaloa, the municipalities of El Fuerte, Badiraguato, Mocorito, Angostura, Navolato, Concordia, Rosario, Escuinapa, and half of Culiacn is controlled by Los Chapitos, while San Ignacio, Elota, and the other half of the Culiacn municipality is reportedly controlled by Mayo. In fact, apart from the state of . the members of The Cartel Project mean to send a powerful message to enemies of the free press . It remains to be seen if the Sinaloa Cartel can again claim the spot as the country's most dominant cartel, but right now the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG stand together as Mexico's two most dominant organized crime groups. [130] 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. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. In January 2017, El Chapo was extradited to the United States. Although likely not as prolific in methamphetamine cooking as the CJNG, the Sinaloa Cartel still has major methamphetamine operations throughout North America, which includes Mexico itself due to the now ubiquitous use of meth in the country. The Sinaloa Cartel has since created new alliances with former enemies in theGulf Carteland theFamilia Michoacanaand appears to have negotiated a pact with what remains of theTijuana Cartel. At the time, the power of the Colombian cartels was declining, partly because of the deaths of various drug lords, notably Pablo Escobar (died 1993), and the U.S. crackdown on drug trafficking in the Caribbean, then the preferred route for transporting drugs into the United States. Investigators are seeking a Tijuana businessman who owned the parcel", "DEA Couldn't Verify Tips on Drug Tunnel", "DRUG TUNNELS ALONG THE U.S.-MEXICO BORDER: HIGH COSTS, HIGH REWARDS", "Border tunnels: Complete list of those found", "Ejidatarios exigen pago justo por tierra expropiada en BC- El aeropuerto internacional de Tijuana ocupa la superficie", "DEA/ICE Uncover "Massive" Cross-Border Drug Tunnel Cement lined passage thought to link warehouses in Tijuana and Otay Mesa", "2,400-foot tunnel 'beats them all' -Builders of passage were well-funded, investigators say", "Major cross-border drug tunnel discovered south of San Diego", "Quitan tneles y droga a la mafia en BC-Decomisan 40 toneladas de marihuana", "Raid on U.S.-Mexico drug tunnel: 22 arrests, at least 12 tons of pot seized", "Hallan Otro Narcotunel Cerca del Aeropuerto", "Second Major Cross-Border Drug Tunnel Discovered South of San Diego This Month- Investigators seize 32 tons of marijuana, arrest 6 suspects", "Elaborate drug tunnel yields record pot seizure- More than 32 tons recovered in the United States and Mexico", "El tnel de Mxico a EU para transportar droga tena un elevador y rieles", "Drug lord 'El Chapo' extradited to the U.S.", "Mexican authorities busted 2 more cross-border tunnels possibly built by the Sinaloa cartel", "Sophisticated drug cartel tunnel from San Diego to Mexico found", "Woman linked to cartel kingpin 'El Chapo' arrested at San Diego border, charged in drug conspiracy", "HSBC money-laundering scandal casts a cloud over Lord Green, the trade minister", "U.S. Says Threat of Mexican Drug Cartels Approaching 'Crisis Proportions', "Treasury Designates Sinaloa Cartel Plaza Bosses", "HSBC became bank to drug cartels, pays big for lapses", "Sinaloa Cartel Bought Narco Plane Via HSBC Bank", "Forget The Drug Dealers And Iran, HSBC Is Having A Great Year", "Chicago's new Public Enemy No.

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