Sinaloa Cartel Enemies: Cali Cartel (CC) Natural Born Killers (NBK) Kings Over All (KOA) Callahan Crime Family (CCF) Back In Blood (BIB) _____ Sinaloa Cartel Sub gangs: None. The body of Jose Rodrigo Arechiga Gamboa, a.k.a. The core of the group, theBLO, split from the rest in 2008. After declaring war on their rivals including old masters in El Chapo's Sinaloa Cartel the cartel began a hostile takeover of Mexico's drug industry. A cartel leader and hitman fond of videotaping torture sessions and decapitating likely dozens of enemies has gone missing from a federal prison in Florida, where he was serving a 49-year sentence. One of these cartels (called plazas at the time) was Sinaloa, with the city of Culiacn acting as its headquarters. [47] Local state and government crackdowns on these farms however has pushed much of the opioid market in the direction of synthetics like fentanyl which can be made far more covertly. [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. 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 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' Guzmn. . [citation needed]. [173][174], Statements from a Mexican diplomat, which were revealed from leaked emails from the Stratfor leak in 2012, appeared to imply the belief amongst Mexican officials that US officials were assisting the Sinaloa cartel's drug smuggling efforts into the US and were protecting the cartel while attacking its rivals in an attempt to lower violence between Mexican drug cartels; this was backed up by information provided by a Mexican foreign agent, codenamed MX1. The arrest, conviction and life sentence of drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in 2019 has done little to dent the Sinaloa drug cartel he ran. In the mountains of Mexico's northern . In January 2017, El Chapo was extradited to the United States. However, the cartel also often acts more like a federation than a tightly knit organization. On 19 December 2013, the Federal Police of Mexico killed Gonzalo "El Macho Prieto" Inzunza in a gun battle in Puerto Penasco, Sonora. Updates? Much of which is also now supposedly the L-methamphetamine isomer (which has more side effects) instead of the more traditional and potent D-methamphetamine, or is now just a racemic mixture of both. [65], According to a 2019 DEA report, it is estimated that each fentanyl pill costs only $1 to produce. Barron had received intelligence that Guzmn would be arriving in a white Mercury Grand Marquis town car. [131][132], Similar to the "Taj Mahal" of drug tunnels discovered on Otay Mesa in 1993,[125] the 2006 drug "super tunnel" was traced back to the Sinaloa Cartel. The Sinaloa cartel is the leading cocaine trafficker from South America to the worldwide market, with an economic presence in 47 countries. The Sinaloa cartel was once led by the notorious drug boss known as Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn. This Is America's Enemies + Woke . This would make it less likely the whole organization would be brought down all at once. Members of the Sinaloa cartel in a photograph included in . Statement of Paul E. Knierim Deputy Chief of Operations, Office of Global Enforcement Drug Enforcement Administration Before the Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration We want to sustain Latin Americas largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources. 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. CJNG, which routinely faces off with its No. 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. [92], Guzmn was captured on 22 February 2014, overnight by American and Mexican authorities. From there it is smuggled north to Mexico and later into the U.S.[26] A very large percentage of the cocaine that gets trafficked through Mexico comes through Guatemala first. [156] President Rodrigo Duterte further confirmed the presence of the Sinaloa Cartel in the Philippines, saying that the cartel uses the country as a trans-shipment point for drugs smuggled into the United States. 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. But instead, even more so than the Zetas a decade ago and far more so than its principal rival, the Sinaloa Cartel, CJNG relishes acting as a de facto nonstate army. The Tijuana Cartel responded by trying to assassinate El Chapo at the Guadalajara airport in 1993, killing a Mexican cardinal instead. [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]. The cartels have pressured reporters to send messages and wage a media war. CJNG and the Nueva Plaza Cartel fought over the years to . Also quoted was a Mexican reporter who claimed hearing numerous times from the public that the military had been involved in murders. Authorities noted that Sinaloa, along with other cartels, had become increasingly involved in the distribution of fentanyl, which contributed to the growing opioid crisis in the United States. Today, the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacin CJNG), is the Sinaloa Cartel's primary enemy. Purportedly, a larger percentage of Mexican methamphetamine is now made from entirely synthetic precursors instead of the natural compound ephedrine. With unregulated trucking and warehouse operations, the former Ejido Tampico became a major distribution point for narcotics being moved into the United States. More than half of that is believed to be supplied by Sinaloa. It was a blow to Mexicos efforts to fight drugs and further underscored the power of both the Sinaloa cartel and Guzmn. [51][96][9][10] Since Colombia is still currently 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. 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. 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-Flix brothers successfully escaping from the location with the assistance of David Barron Corona, a member of the Logan Heights Gang. The Enemies of My Enemy; Los Pepes; Deutschland 93; Exit El Patrn; Nuestra Finca; Al Fin . 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). [163], 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 Sinaloa Cartel is a powerful and violent Mexican drug trafficking organization based in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. Flix Gallardo, following his imprisonment, bestowed the Guadalajara Cartel to his nephews in the Tijuana Cartel. The most well-known leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, The origins of the Sinaloa Cartel as well as its founding members have also been portrayed in the, The Sinaloa Cartel are the main antagonists of 2018 film, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 20:19. L ast year on Valentine's Day, the drug lord Joaquin " El Chapo " Guzman was designated Chicago's Public Enemy No. It has cells in more than 70 cities in the U.S. from Seattle to Miami . In 2019 he was found guilty on various charges, including drug trafficking. 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. On the contrary, based on seizure reports, the Sinaloa Cartel appears to be the most active smuggler of cocaine. This week, InSight Crimes Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. 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. "We have 20 'El Chapos' here." [citation needed] By the mid-1990s, according to one court opinion, the Sinaloa organization was believed to be the size of the Medelln Cartel during its prime. 1" of a city Guzmn has never set foot in. The Sinaloa Cartel's central bond is blood. Omissions? 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 . [57][58] It is also frequently referred to by other non-government based media sources as one of the most powerful and feared criminal organizations in the world and indisputably the most powerful in Mexico. News outlets in Mexico are reporting contradictory stories about whether the Jalisco and Sinaloa Cartels are friends, enemies or something in between. [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. [187], American actor Sean Penn heard about the connection with Ms. del Castillo through a mutual acquaintance, and asked if he might come along to do an interview. [98] 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. Powerful figures in the Guadalajara organization, the two men became leaders in the Sinaloa cartel. 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. From San Diego to New York, agents in 11 cities are working closely together, synthesizing enforcement efforts targeting the Sinaloa Cartel. [150] 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. [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. We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. The most extensive database on organized crime in the Americas. The Sinaloa Cartel (Spanish: Crtel de Sinaloa), also known as the CDS, the Guzmn-Zambada Organization, the Pacific Cartel, the Federation and the Blood Alliance, is a large, international organized crime syndicate that specializes in illegal drug trafficking and money laundering. [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. Sons of Joaqun Archivaldo Guzmn Loera, alias "El Chapo," known as the Chapitos, are fighting with the cartel's older members for control. 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. 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. [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. Sinaloa notably gained territory from both the Tijuana and Jurez cartels, solidifying its position as one of the worlds most-powerful drug syndicates. [57][60][70] After the arrest of Joaqun "El Chapo" Guzmn and his son Ovidio Guzmn Lpez, the cartel is now headed by old-school leader Ismael Zambada Garca (aka El Mayo) and Guzmn's other sons, Jess Alfredo Guzmn and Ivan Archivaldo Guzmn Salazar. [165], The Mexican Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) reported the arrest of Jess Alfredo Salazar Ramrez, alias "El Mueco" or "El Pelos", who was identified as the current lieutenant of the South Pacific Cartel in the state of Sonora. Like many other stories, that of the Sinaloa Cartel and its enemies in Jalisco went through friendship, betrayal and death. Divisions participating in Project Wave Breaker are credited with 85% of all synthetic opioids seized by the DEA in 2020. 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. [139] As with prior "super tunnels", it was equipped with an elevator and electric rail cars to efficiently ferry narcotics across the U.S.-Mexico border. The remaining factions established bases in various parts of Mexico. Members of the Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG) record themselves with prisoners from a rival cartel. [170] Another report detailed numerous indications of corruption and influence that the cartel has within the Mexican government. She served as a key link between the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico and Colombia's Norte del Valle Cartel before she was arrested and extradited to the U.S. in 2012. [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 Sinaloa Cartel has historically operated in the "Golden Triangle", the states of Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua. He is considered to have been one of the most powerful . [25] The cartel however also appears to still have major methamphetamine operations in cities throughout the U.S., such as in San Diego and Atlanta. . Cartel operatives say it's 'actually the opposite. Some sources indicate the escape of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman in July, for example, showed how the Jalisco Cartel - New . 17. On 30 August 2010, Villarreal was captured by Mexican Federal Police. The money it generates has left its imprint on the relationships between narcos and young women . [180][181][182] The cardinal arrived at the airport in a white Mercury Grand Marquis town car, known to be popular amongst drug barons. 4 Nuevo Laredo Massacres. [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). "Sinaloa, think of Chapo, Chapo Guzmn and his kids, Mayo Zambada. By Jan-Albert Hootsen September 2, 2015. In 2016, authorities arrested Clara Elena Laborn, a former beauty queen from Sonora state who had married Hctor Beltrn Leyva, El Chapo's former partner in the Sinaloa cartel. I have been trying to find the Sponsored by Adidas video but I can't ever seem to track it down. In December 2013, three suspected members of the cartel were arrested in Lipa in Batangas province in the Philippines with 84 kilograms of methamphetamine.[156][169]. [96][58] 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. However, after the cartel was involved in the 1985 torture and murder of a U.S. drug . 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, 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, Even with El Chapo in jail for life, the Sinaloa Cartel has remained one of Mexico's. The CJNG dropped flyers over a Mexican town to declare war on the Sinaloa Cartel and promised to "clean up" the region. [63][64] 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. LOS ZETAS CARTEL Founded: 1999 Originally part of: Gulf Cartel Allies: Beltrn-Leyva Cartel, Jurez Cartel, Tijuana Cartel Enemies: Sinaloa Cartel, Gulf Cartel, La Familia Cartel PRESENCE Controls over 11 states, the Zetas have the largest territory in Mexico Also, Zetas have a presence in the U.S.A. & Guatemala WANTED "EL LAZCA" OR . El Cartel de Sinaloa es considerada como una de las organizaciones criminales dedicadas al narcotrfico ms antiguas en Mxico: dnde opera y quines son sus lderes? [68] In San Diego County, the amount of fentanyl intercepted by US Customs and Border Protection rose from 1,599 pounds in 2019 to more than 6,700 pounds in 2021. Photo illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast; GettyA member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartelhis stomach straining against a black sleeveless vestis crouching over the body of a mutilated foot soldier from a rival crime group. Even with El Chapo in jail for life, the Sinaloa Cartel has remained one of Mexico's most powerful organized crime groups. [58][84][15] 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. Since then, the cartel has extended its reach across the whole of Mexico, aside from the areas controlled by the Sinaloa cartel. In the ensuing years, drug tunnels moving tons of narcotics were detected in and around the Tijuana airport. [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. At one point, Guzmn reportedly carried a child on his arms "obscuring himself as a target". In November 1992, El Chapo sent 40 gunmen to raid a Tijuana Cartel party in Puerto Vallarta, killing nine people. Guzmn also faces federal indictment in several locations including San Diego, New York, and Texas, among other places. In 1989, the Sinaloa Cartel dug its first drug tunnel between a house in Agua Prieta, Sonora to a warehouse located in Douglas, Arizona. Report abuse . Their leaders included Rafael Caro Quintero, Miguel ngel Flix Gallardo and Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo. [145], In January 2008 the cartel allegedly split into a number of warring factions, which is a major cause of the epidemic of drug violence Mexico has seen in the last year. 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. In recent years, the Sinaloa Cartel has become embroiled in a series of violent turf wars. Formed in about 2010, the Jalisco cartel is the strongest and most aggressive competitor to the Sinaloa. 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. [95], In current times, it is believed that while Guzmn's relatives and friends scramble for marginal leadership positions in the organization, the real top leader is still Ismael Zambada whom allegedly mediates power between them and allows them an umbrella of the organization to work under his reign with seemingly, relative autonomy. However, El Licenciado and his son, Damso Lpez Serrano, alias Mini Lic, have both been, . [79], Miguel ngel Flix 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. In December 2016, one month prior Joaqun 'El Chapo' Guzmn Loera's extradition to the U.S.,[140] 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. The Sinaloa Cartel seems to have taken its cue from Colombia's Cali Cartel by establishing strong connections to Mexico's political and economic elite. [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. Many of its members are related by birth or by marriage. In 2014 Guzmn was apprehended in Mazatln, Sinaloa, Mexico, but the following year he escaped from prison through a tunnel. It is based in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa. In the latter part of the 1970s, the various families branched into moving cocaine for Colombian and Central American traffickers, and shifted their operations to Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco. We then verify, write and edit, providing the tools to generate real impact. The Father and son video is pretty fucked up.The reaction of the kid seeing his Dad (or whoever it is in relation to him) decapitated is so hard to watch.