His recapture and extradition has sparked a wave of violence due to internal power struggles within the Sinaloa Cartel and efforts from other criminal groups to expand their operations in the capos absence. The Sinaloa Cartel is not a hierarchical structure. The remaining factions established bases in various parts of Mexico. Its origins can be traced to the Guadalajara cartel, which was one of Mexicos largest crime organizations in the early 1980s. The municipalities of Cosala and Mazatln 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 Beltrn-Leyva Organization. ", "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. 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. Perhaps they were connected to a rival gang, or didn't do their jobs correctly. 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. Working closely with the Honduran Juan Ramon Matta Ballesteros, the men came into contact with Colombia's Medelln Cartel. Mexican drug cartel leader Ovidio Guzman, a son of jailed kingpin Joaquin " El Chapo " Guzman, was arrested, unleashing a violent backlash by gang gunmen on Thursday that shut the airport in . Given that El Chapo's conviction in the United States in 2019. of the cartel's operations while it retains its horizontal structure. El Chapo fled to Guatemala where he was arrested two weeks later. 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 time it was all Chapo . "The Sinaloa Cartel demonstrated a tremendous ability to mobilize rapidly and take effective control of the city," says Raul Benitez, an expert on Latin America's . [citation needed] Other shipments of South American cocaine are believed to originate from Cali and Medelln drug-trafficking groups in Colombia, from which the Sinaloa Cartel handles transportation across the U.S. border to distribution cells in Arizona, California, Illinois, Texas, New York City, and Washington state. [51][4] It also has a notable presence in a number of other regions in Latin America, such as Colombia; as well as in cities across the U.S.[6][25] The United States Intelligence Community generally considers the Sinaloa Cartel to be the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the world, making it perhaps even more influential and capable than Pablo Escobars infamous Medelln Cartel of Colombia was during its prime. Members of the Zetas being presented in Mexico City by the navy - they were alleged of being involved in the San Fernando massacre Credit: Associated Press. The Attorney General of Mxico 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". The formation of El Mencho's new cartel was announced to the world in a violent public display with grisly spectacles eventually becoming the group's trademark. In 1989, the Sinaloa Cartel dug its first drug tunnel between a house in Agua Prieta, Sonora to a warehouse located in Douglas, Arizona. In this case, he recalled, the payout to . 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. Jos Rodrigo Archiga Gamboa (alias "Chino Antrax") was a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel. 1. [65] 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. [90][45] Guzman and Zambada became Mexico's top drug kingpins in 2003, after the arrest of their rival Osiel Crdenas Guilln of the Gulf Cartel. New York: Viking. Drug busts in DC area, 7 states linked to Sinaloa cartel; drugs, guns, $5.4 million seized. This has predictably resulted in a surge of accidental overdose deaths in the U.S.[65][66][67] Additionally, the city of San Diego in Southern California has reportedly now become America's epicenter for fentanyl trafficking according to some federal officials, as reported by local news. In 2002, Mexican President Vicente Fox, who had promised to resolve the issue, also failed. Investigators identified El Postino as a potential front for the Sinaloa cartel in 2016. [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. [124] On 31 May 1993, Mexican federal agents searching for the gunmen found a partially completed 1,500 feet (460m) tunnel adjacent to the Tijuana airport and crossing under the U.S.-Mexico border to a warehouse on Otay Mesa in San Diego. As the country's criminal landscape continues to grow more fragmented, it's unclear if and how traditional cartels will be forced to adapt. [8][62][16] As mentioned previously, the organization is currently heavily involved in the manufacture and distribution of fentanyl, much of which consists of making and selling counterfeit M30 pills designed to look like pharmaceutical-grade oxycodone pills, but which evidently do not contain any real oxycodone. The Sinaloa Cartel has been waging a war against the Tijuana Cartel (Arellano-Flix Organization) over the Tijuana smuggling route to the border city of San Diego, California. The current rate of production and sale of methamphetamine in Mexico is also a result of the so-called "new era" of fully-synthetic drug manufacturing and trafficking. [103][104] The CDS as well as other large Mexican cartels have also set up major marijuana growing operations in the remote forests and deserts of California. Guzmn is serving a life sentence in a US prison, but the Sinaloa cartel appears to be thriving. In the mountains of Mexico's northern . In 2001, he escaped prison, and assumed a central leadership role in the organization. The characteristics of the system are strategies . As a result, more criminal, Despite the pandemics economic fallout being felt throughout the Riviera Maya, cartels have continued their extortion schemes in Mexico's popular, The United States and Mexico have officially entered a new phase of their partnership to tackle transnational organized crime groups. However, the cartel also often acts more like a federation than a tightly knit organization. Territory: The west, mainly the Tierra Caliente region. 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. [92], Guzmn was captured on 22 February 2014, overnight by American and Mexican authorities. Google Sites. The resulting products are shipped to the United States and many South American countries. 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 cartel emerged in 2010, first as an ally of the Sinaloa cartel of Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn, and then, by 2013, as an independent organization trafficking drugs through some of Mexico . Ovidio Guzmn's arrest may be the start of a campaign against El Chapo's sons and the Sinaloa cartel. 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. [84], 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. [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. The operations remained under the auspices of El Chapo's brother Arturo Loera, Ramon Laija Serrano, and Hector, Alfredo and Arturo Beltran Leyva. . While the Sinaloa Cartel remains under the leadership of Zambada Garca, its local bosses have broad decision-making power, which makes it difficult to estimate how much of an overall toll this violence has had on the group. Report abuse . 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. The group has expanded rapidly . 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 companies; Corporativo y Enlace Ram, Corporativo Escomexa, and Grupo Pochteca allegedly imported key substances like 4-Anilino-N-phenethyl-4-piperidine, propionyl, chloride, and aniline from India and other Asian countries. [132][133][134][135][136] 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[137][138] 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. The Sinaloa Cartel, often described as the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in the Western Hemisphere, is an alliance of some of Mexico's top capos. 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. His work has led to two documentaries and a book of photography that challenge the glamorous TV depictions of narco culture. El Chapo is in prison, but Sinaloa cartel remains strong. 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. 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 the country's criminal landscape continues to grow more fragmented, it's unclear if and how traditional cartels will be forced to adapt. He was arrested by the Mexican Army on 18 March 2009, and extradited on 18 February 2010, to Chicago to face federal charges. They were, in essence, a small group of farming families that lived in rural parts of the state. The CJNG emerged out of the Sinaloa Cartel in 2010 after the death of former Sinaloa Cartel capo Ignacio Coronel, alias Nacho. Since, the CJNG has expanded rapidly across the country, involving itself in a host of criminal activities, including international drug trafficking, most recently involving synthetic drugs and powerful opioids like fentanyl, which the Sinaloa Cartel is also involved in the trafficking of. The drug operation allegedly brought 1.5 to 2 tons of cocaine every month to Chicago from Mexico and shipped millions of dollars south of the border. said the Sinaloa Cartel at one time slaughtered more . 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. The cartel's current leader, Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn, is public enemy number one in both Mexico and the United States. They also announced the seizure of more than $59million in cash and numerous vehicles, planes, and boats. [206][207] The two women were later revealed to be Guzmn's personal chefs, who had traveled with him to multiple safe houses. [93], In May 2009, the U.S. National Public Radio (NPR) aired multiple reports alleging that the Mexican federal police and military were working in collusion with the Sinaloa Cartel. [109] 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). Hit lists published on platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp drive people to flee, but even once they're in the U.S. they continue to be stalked. Nor does the selectivity and calibration of Sinaloa's use of violence mean that the Cartel, including El Chapo, have shied away from brutal torture of captured internal or external enemies, as . 4 Nuevo Laredo Massacres. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). According to reports at the time, it was responsible for the majority of illegal drugsnotably marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetaminesthat were smuggled from Mexico into its northern neighbour, and in 2015 U.S. officials claimed that Sinaloa controlled the drug markets in almost every state. Frozen, "Mexican drug lord killed in raid, officials say", "El Chapo, Escaped Mexican Drug Lord, Is Recaptured in Gun Battle", "The Drug Situation in the Chicago Field Division", "U.S. charges 10 accused Mexican drug cartel leaders", "Colombia Survey 2014: UNODC study shows significant increase in coca leaf production in high density areas", "Colombia Is Growing Record Amounts Of Coca, The Key Ingredient In Cocaine", "Cocaine production in Colombia is at historic highs", "Colombia's Cocaine Keeps On Reaching New Heights: UNODC Report", "60 Charged in San Diego-based Sinaloa Cartel Meth Investigation", "Major multi-million meth bust alarms Atlanta DEA agents", "Drug cartels stealing millions of gallons of water for marijuana grows in Antelope Valley: Officials", "Nearly 7 Tons of Marijuana Seized from Suspected Cartel Grow Sites in Monterey County, California", "LA County's Largest Drug Bust in History Involves Suspected Mexican Cartels", "Made in China: China's Role in Transnational Crime and Illicit Financial Flows", "Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG Share Fentanyl Chemical Suppliers", "Latest news from around the world | The Guardian", "Consumption Of Fentanyl, The Drug That Is 50 Times Strronger Than Heroin, Grows In Northern Mexico", "Mexico's precursor chemical controls: Emergence of less potent types of methamphetamine in the United States", "Army Secures 1.2 Tons Of Methamphetamine In Cosal, Sinaloa", "Mapa de crteles del narco en Mxico segn Inteligencia Financiera", "Ivan Archivaldo and Alfredo Guzmn's Top Lieutenants", "Chapo's rise: From poor, abused to cartel kingpin", "Annals of Excavation: Underworld- How the Sinaloa Cartel digs its tunnels", "Mexico Cardinal Slain; Caught in Gun Battle: Violence: 6 others are killed at Guadalajara airport. Funky town of course. Sinaloa cartel, international crime organization that is among the most-powerful drug-trafficking syndicates in the world. The Sinaloa Cartel's tentacles stretch from New York City to Buenos Aires and almost every major city in between. On the contrary, based on seizure reports, the Sinaloa Cartel appears to be the most active smuggler of cocaine. 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. This eventually led to Ramn Arellano Flix killing two of Guzmn's associates thus leading to a full-fledged war between the two organizations. Key cities along the corridor include the Mexicali plaza, San Luis Rio Colorado plaza, Sonoyta plaza, Nogales plaza, and the Agua Prieta plaza. The cartel publicly announced its arrival in October 2015, with a narcocorrido song and a Facebook message entitled "Sinaloa is now in Colima". By Jan-Albert Hootsen September 2, 2015. 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. sfn error: no target: CITEREFEdmonds-PoliShirk2009 (, GMA News: "Mexican drug cartel penetrates PHL; PDEA raids lab in Lipa City" 26 December 2013, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Maritime drug trafficking in Latin America, "5 Members of a Major Mexican Drug-Trafficking Organization Indicted in Operation Money Train", "Tracking the Sinaloa Federation's International Presence", "Venezuela apunta al Crtel de Sinaloa: captur a miembros de la organizacin criminal en enfrentamiento fronterizo", "2015 National Drug Threat Assessment Summary", "Heroin bringing violent Mexican drug cartels to Western", "Charges: Cartel used Minnesota house for drugs, torture", "New indictment ups the ante for WNY drug network linked to Mexican cartel", "Ovidio Guzman, son of El Chapo and alleged major fentanyl trafficker, arrested in Mexico", "100,000-foot soldiers in Mexican cartels", "A Line in the Sand: Confronting the Threat at the Southwest Border", "Army Destroys Massive Sinaloa Cartel Synthetic Drug Lab Outside Culiacn", "Zacatecas: Grupo Flechas Burns Alive A Jalisco Operative", "Grupo Flechas del Mayo Zambada asegura que fueron 43 las bajas del CJNG tras batalla", "Quines son los Cabrera: el brazo armado del "Mayo" Zambada que pelea por Durango y Zacatecas contra el CJNG", "Quin es el "Ruso", el sicario del "Mayo" Zambada que est en la mira de los "Chapitos", "Narco Funeral Draws Attention to Los Salazar in Mexico", "Quines son Los Salazar, los lugartenientes del Crtel de Sinaloa detrs de la trgica muerte de un nio en Sonora", "Mexican Narcotrafficking Cartels Expand their Control in Colombia", "International Narcotics Control Strategy Report 2008", "Six Colombian Nationals Plead Guilty To Conspiracy To Use "Narco-Submarines" To Smuggle Over 19,000 Kilograms Of Cocaine To The Sinaloa Cartel", "CDS El Mayo Troops Show Support for El Rodo's Independent Cartel in Nuevo Len", "Journalist Peter R. de Vries shot in the head. [45], 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.[183][184][185]. 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. "El Chino ntrax," was among three found Saturday inside a BMW X-5 sports utility vehicle registered to his sister, El Sol de .