Misplaced Pages

#101898

179-522: The Nueva Plaza Cartel was born in 2018, as a split from the CJNG. El Salto, Chapala, Juanacatlán, Poncitlán, Tlajomulco de Zuñiga and Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos are the areas they dispute. El Cholo separated from the CJNG, when he was accused of treason after the murder of "El Colombiano", an important financial operator of the criminal organization. The group was initially commanded by Carlos Enrique Sánchez "El Cholo" and Érick Valencia, "El 85" (the latter one of

358-576: A Guatemalan military official US$ 1.2 million to allow him to hide south of the Mexican border. The unnamed official, however, passed information about Guzmán's whereabouts to law enforcement. On 9 June 1993, Guzmán was arrested by the Guatemalan Army at a hotel near Tapachula , close to the Guatemala–Mexico border . He was extradited to Mexico two days later aboard a military airplane, where he

537-540: A bridge in Venezuela . Palma retaliated by sending his men to kill Clavel while he was in prison. In 1991, Ramón killed another Sinaloa Cartel associate, Rigoberto Campos Salcido ( alias "El Rigo"), and prompted bigger conflicts with Guzmán. In early 1992, a Tijuana Cartel-affiliated and San Diego-based gang known as Calle Treinta kidnapped six of Guzmán's men in Tijuana, tortured them to obtain information, and then shot them in

716-451: A child, he sold oranges and dropped out of school in third grade to work with his father and as a result is functionally illiterate . He was known for being a practical joker and enjoyed playing pranks on his friends and family when he was young. He was regularly beaten, and he sometimes fled to his maternal grandmother's house to escape such treatment. However, he stood up to his father to protect his younger siblings from being beaten. It

895-480: A city Guzmán has never set foot in. He is the only individual to receive the title since Al Capone. 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

1074-492: 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. 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

1253-674: A crackdown on cartels by the Mexican military to stem the increasing violence. After four years, the additional efforts had not slowed the flow of drugs or the killings tied to the drug war. Of the 53,000 arrests made as of 2010, only 1,000 involved associates of the Sinaloa Cartel, which led to suspicions that Calderón was intentionally allowing Sinaloa to win the drug war, a charge Calderón denied in advertisements in Mexican newspapers, pointing to his administration's killing of top Sinaloa deputy "Nacho" Coronel as evidence. Sinaloa's rival cartels saw their leaders killed and syndicates dismantled by

1432-660: A formal chain of command ." 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. 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 has two close associates, Ismael Zambada García and Ignacio Coronel Villareal . Guzman and Zambada became Mexico's top drug kingpins in 2003, after

1611-509: A former high-ranking Tijuana member called Eduardo Teodoro Garcia Simental, alias "El Teo" or "Tres Letras" allying with the Federation. 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

1790-572: A group controlled by Carrillo Fuentes family formed the Juárez Cartel ; and the remaining faction left to Sinaloa and the Pacific Coast and formed the Sinaloa Cartel under the traffickers Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada , Palma, and Guzmán. Guzmán was specifically in charge of the drug corridors of Tecate, Baja California , and Mexicali and San Luis Río Colorado , two border crossings that connect

1969-589: A large number of Sinaloa Cartel men posing as policemen stormed the Christine discothèque in Puerto Vallarta , spotted Ramón, Francisco Javier Arellano Félix , David Barron Corona , and opened fire at them. The shooting lasted for at least eight minutes, and more than 1,000 rounds were fired by both Guzmán's and Arellano Félix's gunmen. Six people were killed in the shootout, but the Arellano Félix brothers were in

SECTION 10

#1732855849102

2148-669: 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 brought in 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

2327-528: 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

2506-524: 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. The Sinaloa Cartel used to be known as La Alianza de Sangre ("Blood Alliance"). 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." The Cipher Brief identified

2685-399: A period of three years. In the border areas between Tecate and San Luis Río Colorado, Guzmán ordered his men to traffic most of the drugs overland, but also through a few aircraft. By using the so-called piecemeal strategy, in which traffickers kept drug quantities relatively low, risks were reduced. Guzmán also pioneered the use of sophisticated tunnels to move drugs across the border and into

2864-425: A process that slowed down his possible extradition to the U.S. The decision to initially file only one charge against him showed that the Mexican government was working on preparing more formal charges against Guzmán, and possibly including the charges he faced before his escape from prison in 2001. The kingpin also faced charges in at least seven U.S. jurisdictions, and U.S. officials filed for his extradition. Guzmán

3043-425: A rifle he had close to him. Amid the quarrel with the marines, the drug lord was hit four times. By 6:40 AM, he was arrested, taken to the ground floor, and walked to the condominium's parking lot, where the first photos of his capture were taken. His identity was confirmed through a fingerprint examination immediately following his capture. He was then flown to Mexico City for formal identification. According to

3222-521: A ruling by the Supreme Court of Mexico made extradition between Mexico and the United States easier, Guzmán bribed guards to aid his escape. On 19 January 2001, Francisco "El Chito" Camberos Rivera, a prison guard, opened Guzmán's electronically operated cell door, and Guzmán got into a laundry cart that maintenance worker Javier Camberos rolled through several doors and eventually out the front door. He

3401-623: 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. Pedro Avilés Pérez

3580-481: A sophisticated security circle of at least 300 informants and gunmen resembling the manpower equivalent to those of a head of state . His inner circle would help him move around through several isolated ranches in the mountainous area to avoid capture. He usually escaped from law enforcement using armored cars, aircraft, and all-terrain vehicles, and was known to employ sophisticated communications gadgetry and counterespionage practices. Since many of these locations in

3759-600: A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office for the District Court for the Eastern District of New York , announced that U.S. authorities plan to seek the extradition of Guzmán for several cases pending against him in New York and other United States jurisdictions. Guzmán was imprisoned at Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1, area #20, Hallway #1, on the same day of his capture on 22 February 2014. The area where he lived

SECTION 20

#1732855849102

3938-519: A system of secret tunnels that connected six houses, eventually moving south to Mazatlán. He had planned to stay a few days in Mazatlán to see his twin baby daughters before retreating to the mountains. On 22 February 2014, at around 6:40 AM, Mexican authorities arrested Guzmán at a hotel in a beachfront area on Mazatlán malecon , following an operation by the Mexican Navy , with joint intelligence from

4117-519: A tunnel dug by associates into his jail cell. Mexican authorities recaptured him following a shoot-out in January 2016, and extradited him to the U.S. a year later. In 2019, he was found guilty of a number of criminal charges related to his leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel, was sentenced to life imprisonment, and incarcerated in ADX Florence , Colorado, United States. Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera

4296-575: 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

4475-497: A white Mercury Grand Marquis town car. 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. 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

4654-518: Is a Mexican former drug lord and a former leader within the Sinaloa Cartel . Guzmán is believed to be responsible for the deaths of over 34,000 people, and was considered to be the most powerful drug trafficker in the world until he was extradited to the United States and sentenced to life in prison. Guzmán was born in Sinaloa and raised in a poor farming family. He endured much physical abuse at

4833-550: Is assumed that both cartels threatened the Flores crew with violence if they bought from other rival drug organizations. 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. The Mexican Secretary of National Defense ( Sedena ) reported

5012-488: Is believed the Sinaloa Cartel moved 200 men into the region to battle the Gulf Cartel for control. 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

5191-547: Is handling the cartel with a lower profile. In March 2021, El Tiburón, who was now the Nueva Plaza Cartel's second-in-command, surrendered to Mexican authorities soon after El Cholo's murder. On 4 September 2022, El 85 and two of his associates were arrested by Mexican Army and National Guard forces in the Jalisco town of Tapalpa . Sinaloa Cartel The Sinaloa Cartel (Spanish: Cártel de Sinaloa , CDS , after

5370-453: Is in prison on charges of drug trafficking and conspiracy. After Guzmán's prison escape nearly a decade after his initial arrest, he and close associate Ismael Zambada García became Mexico's undisputed top drug kingpins after the 2003 arrest of their rival Osiel Cárdenas of the Gulf Cartel . Until Guzmán's arrest in 2014, he was considered the "most powerful drug trafficker in the world" by

5549-420: Is possible that Guzmán incurred his father's wrath for trying to stop him from beating them. His mother was his "foundation of emotional support". The nearest school to his home was about 100 km (60 mi) away, and he was taught by traveling teachers during his early years. The teachers stayed for a few months before moving to other areas. With few opportunities for employment in his hometown, he turned to

Nueva Plaza Cartel - Misplaced Pages Continue

5728-481: The Agua Prieta plaza. The Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona metropolitan areas are major trans-shipment and distribution points for the cartel in the US. 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. Chicago continues to be a major Sinaloa distribution point for

5907-725: 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 ). 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. Following

6086-736: The Ciudad Juárez crossing points, which were in the hands of the Carrillo Fuentes family of the Juárez Cartel. Despite a high degree of mistrust between the two organizations, the Sinaloa and Juárez cartels had a working agreement at the time. Guzmán convened a meeting in Monterrey with Ismael Zambada García ("El Mayo"), Juan José Esparragoza Moreno ("El Azul") and Arturo Beltrán Leyva. In this meeting, they discussed killing Rodolfo Carrillo Fuentes, who

6265-887: 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 . 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 ),

6444-459: The Sinaloa Cartel . Before the death of "El Cholo", he mentioned in a video, an alleged union with Omar García Harfuch to fight against the CJNG, in addition to being awarded the Tonalá massacre. The group is also known for having an easy irruption with the police forces. El Cholo previously assassinated a CJNG financier and after El Mencho attempted to retaliate with a failed coup against El Cholo,

6623-418: 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. 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

6802-552: The U.S. Department of the Treasury . Guzmán also had another close associate, his trusted friend Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel Villarreal . A U.S. indictment states that from 2012, Guzmán and the Sinaloa Cartel bribed Juan Orlando Hernández with millions of dollars that helped him become President of Honduras in 2013. This influence helped the Cartel and its allies control and protect vital maritime and air transshipment destinations between

6981-515: The 1980s, the leading crime syndicate in Mexico was the Guadalajara Cartel , which was headed by Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo (alias "El Padrino" or "The Godfather"), Rafael Caro Quintero , Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo (alias "Don Neto"), Juan José Esparragoza Moreno (alias El Azul , "The Blue One") and others. In the 1970s, Guzmán first worked for the drug lord Héctor "El Güero" Palma by transporting drugs and overseeing their shipments from

7160-433: The 1990s, Ismael Zambada also helped grow and expand the cartel while Guzmán and Palma were incarcerated. Before getting directly involved with 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. By the mid-1990s, according to one court opinion,

7339-513: The Amezcua brothers – founders of the Colima Cartel – in 1999 on methamphetamine trafficking charges, there was a demand for leadership throughout Mexico to coordinate methamphetamine shipments north. Guzmán saw an opportunity and seized it. Easily arranging precursor shipments, Guzmán and Ismael Zambada García ("El Mayo") made use of their previous contacts on Mexico's Pacific coast. Importantly, for

Nueva Plaza Cartel - Misplaced Pages Continue

7518-619: The Arellano Félix brothers sent the Venezuelan drug trafficker Enrique Rafael Clavel Moreno to infiltrate Palma's family and seduce his wife Guadalupe Leija Serrano. After convincing her to withdraw US$ 7 million from one of Palma's bank accounts in San Diego , California , Clavel beheaded her and sent her head to Palma in a box. It was known as the first beheading linked to the drug trade in Mexico. Two weeks later, Clavel killed Palma's children, Héctor (aged 5) and Nataly (aged 4), by throwing them off

7697-502: The Arellano Félix clan about this. In 1989, Guzmán sent Armando López (alias "El Rayo"), one of his most trusted men, to speak with the Arellano Félix clan in Tijuana. Before he had a chance to speak face-to-face with them, López was killed by Ramón Arellano Félix . The corpse was disposed of in the outskirts of the city and the Tijuana Cartel ordered a hit on the remaining members of the López family to prevent future reprisals. That same year,

7876-531: The Arellano Félix clan sent their top gunmen on a final mission to kill Guzmán in Guadalajara, where he moved around frequently to avoid any possible attacks. Having no success, the Tijuana Cartel hitmen decided to return to Baja California on 24 May 1993. As Francisco Javier was at the Guadalajara International Airport booking his flight to Tijuana, informant tips notified him that Guzmán was at

8055-455: The Arizona border. The Milenio (Michoacán) , Jalisco (Guadalajara), Sonora (Sonora) , and Colima cartels were now branches of the Sinaloa Cartel. At this time the organization was laundering money at global scale, mainly through British bank HSBC . In January 2008 the cartel allegedly split into a number of warring factions, which caused a major uptick in drug violence in Mexico. Murders by

8234-505: The Attorney General's Office. When Félix Gallardo was arrested, the Tijuana corridor was handed over to the Arellano Félix brothers, Jesús Labra Áviles ( alias "El Chuy"), and Javier Caro Payán ( alias "El Doctor"), cousin of the former Guadalajara Cartel leader Rafael Caro Quintero. In fears of a coup, however, Caro Payán fled to Canada and was later arrested. Guzmán and the rest of the Sinaloa Cartel leaders consequently grew angry at

8413-611: The Avilés organization. Pedro Avilés would eventually die in a shootout with federal police in September 1978 in Sinaloa . 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. Félix Gallardo divided up his "Federation" by 1987, just two years after

8592-611: The Beltrán Leyva Organization as subject to sanction under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act ("Kingpin Act"), which prohibits people and corporations in the U.S. from conducting businesses with them and freezes their U.S. assets. Guzmán was known among drug lords for his longevity and evasion of authorities, assisted by alleged bribes to federal, state and local Mexican officials. Despite

8771-675: The Beltrán Leyva brothers were at odds over Guzmán's relationship with the Valencia brothers in Michoacán. Following the killing of Guzmán's son Édgar, violence increased. From 8 May through the end of the month, over 116 people were murdered in Culiacán, 26 of them police officers. In June 2008, over 128 were killed; in July, 143 were slain. An additional deployment of 2,000 troops to the area failed to stop

8950-569: The Beltrán Leyvas already had a big stake), Oaxaca , Yucatán and Quintana Roo . They worked their way into the center of the country, where no single group had control. The Beltrán Leyva organization allied with the Gulf Cartel and its hit squad Los Zetas against Sinaloa. The split was officially recognized by the U.S. government on 30 May 2008. On that day, it recognized the Beltrán Leyva brothers as leaders of their own cartel. President George W. Bush designated Marcos Arturo Beltrán Leyva and

9129-629: 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

SECTION 50

#1732855849102

9308-513: The Calderón government was heavily pursuing his organization during the cartel crackdown. This became a key factor influencing the break between the Sinaloa Cartel and the Beltrán Leyva brothers , five brothers who served as Guzmán's top lieutenants, primarily working for the cartel in the northern region of Sinaloa. Sinaloa lawyer Loya-Castro, who like Guzmán had been wanted on federal charges in

9487-599: The Carrillo Fuentes family. Instead, the city found itself as the front line in the Mexican Drug War and would see homicides skyrocket as rival cartels fought for control. With this act, Guzmán was the first to break the nonaggression "pact" the major cartels had agreed to, setting in motion the fighting between cartels for drug routes that has claimed more than 60,000 lives since December 2006. When Mexican President Felipe Calderón took office in December 2006, he announced

9666-500: The Cartel Nuevo retaliated by successfully assassinating the leader of the CJNG assault squad. The group also was involved in the murder of civilians and criminals, who ended up burying them in clandestine graves, such as those found in the municipalities of Tlajomulco de Zúñiga and Zapopan . On 18 March 2021, members of the CJNG killed El Cholo, but not before questioning him (the latter recorded on video), claiming responsibility for

9845-511: The DEA and the U.S. Marshals Service . A few days before his capture, Mexican authorities had been raiding several properties owned by members of the Sinaloa Cartel who were close to Guzmán throughout the state of Sinaloa. The operation leading to his capture began at 3:45 AM, when ten pickup trucks of the Mexican Navy carrying over 65 Marines made their way to the resort area. Guzmán was hiding at

10024-620: 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. Also 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. In February 2014, "El Chapo" Guzmán

10203-503: The Federal Police, and the Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional (CISEN) for Guzmán's capture. In the United States, Attorney General Eric Holder said Guzmán had caused "death and destruction of millions of lives across the globe" and called the arrest "a landmark achievement, and a victory for the citizens of both Mexico and the United States". Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos telephoned Peña Nieto and congratulated him for

10382-585: 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. With the arrest of Joaquín Guzmán Loera, Ismael Zambada has assumed most of the leadership of

10561-540: The Golden Triangle are only accessible via single-track dirt roads, local residents easily detected the arrival of law enforcement or any outsiders. Their distrust towards non-residents and their aversion towards the government, alongside a combination of bribery and intimidation, helped keep the locals loyal to Guzmán and the Sinaloa Cartel in the area. According to law enforcement intelligence, attempting to have launched an attack to capture Guzmán by air would have had similar results; his security circle would have warned him of

10740-444: The Mexican government through Twitter for the capture too. The French government extended its congratulations on 24 February and supported the Mexican security forces in their combat against organized crime. News of Guzmán's capture made it to the headlines of many media outlets across the U.S., Latin America, and Europe. On Twitter, Mexico and Guzmán's capture were trending topics throughout most of 22 February 2014. Bob Nardoza,

10919-401: The Mexican government, no shots were fired during the operation. Guzmán was presented in front of cameras during a press conference at the Mexico City International Airport that afternoon, and then he was transferred to the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1, a maximum-security prison in Almoloya de Juárez, State of Mexico, on a Federal Police Black Hawk helicopter. The helicopter

SECTION 60

#1732855849102

11098-425: 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. In 2013, the Chicago Crime Commission named Joaquin "Chapo" Guzmán "Public Enemy No. 1" of

11277-412: The Miramar condominiums, located at #608 on Avenida del Mar. Mexican and U.S. federal agents had leads that the drug lord had been at that location for at least two days, and that he was staying on the condominium's fourth floor, in Room 401. When the Mexican authorities arrived at the location, they quickly subdued Carlos Manuel Hoo Ramírez , one of Guzmán's bodyguards, before quietly making their way to

11456-411: The Sierra Madre region to urban areas near the Mexico–U.S. border by aircraft. Since his initial steps in organized crime, Guzmán was ambitious and regularly pressed on his superiors to allow him to increase the share of narcotics that were smuggled across the border. He also favored a violent and serious approach when doing business; if any of his drug shipments were not on time, Guzmán would simply kill

11635-412: 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. it was believed that while Guzmán's relatives and friends scrambled for marginal leadership positions in the organization, the real top leader was still Ismael Zambada whom allegedly mediated power between them and allowed them an umbrella of

11814-574: The Sinaloa Cartel ran its day-to-day activities smoothly in case he was gone for some time. After obtaining a passport with the fake name of Jorge Ramos Pérez, Guzmán was transported to the southern state of Chiapas by one of his trusted associates before leaving the country and settling in Guatemala on 4 June 1993. His plan was to move across Guatemala with his girlfriend María del Rocío del Villar Becerra and several of his bodyguards and settle in El Salvador . During his travel, Mexican and Guatemalan authorities were tracking his movements. Guzmán paid

11993-419: The Sinaloa Cartel. On 24 June 2020, Zambada was revealed to be "sick with diabetes ", which reportedly gave El Chapo's sons more influence over the Sinaloa Cartel. 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. Under Zambada's leadership,

12172-407: The Sinaloa Cartel. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the Sinaloa Cartel, under the leadership of figures like Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán , 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

12351-428: The Sinaloa organization was believed to be the size of the Medellín Cartel during its prime. 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. The Sinaloa Cartel was therefore believed to be linked to the Juárez Cartel in a strategic alliance following

12530-445: 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 . 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

12709-415: 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

12888-562: The U.S. 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. 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 . As of 2024,

13067-411: The U.S. on the grounds that the U.S. officials had not formally requested his extradition from Mexico. The court said that if the U.S. files a request in the future, Guzmán can petition for another injunction. The court had until 9 April 2014 to issue a formal declaration of the injunction's rejection, and Guzmán's lawyers could appeal the court's decision in the meantime. The same day that the injunction

13246-676: 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. On 19 December 2013,

13425-425: The United States and South America. His drug empire made Guzmán a billionaire, and he was ranked the 10th richest man in Mexico and 1,140th in the world in 2011, with a net worth of roughly US$ 1 billion. To assist his drug trafficking, the Sinaloa Cartel also built a shipping and transport empire. Guzmán has been referred to as the "biggest drug lord of all time", and the U.S. DEA considered him "the godfather of

13604-413: The United States by air, sea and road, and had distribution cells throughout the U.S. The organization has also been involved in the production, smuggling and distribution of Mexican methamphetamine , marijuana , and heroin from Southeast Asia. When Palma was arrested by the Mexican Army on 23 June 1995, Guzmán took leadership of the cartel. Palma was later extradited to the United States, where he

13783-437: 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. He filed a guilty plea agreement and agreed to cooperate with

13962-737: The United States since 1993, voluntarily approached the DEA offering them information in 1998, eventually signing paperwork as a formal informant in 2005, and his U.S. indictment was thrown out in 2008. Loya-Castro's leaks to the DEA led to the dismantling of the Tijuana Cartel, as well as the Mexican Army's arrest of Guzmán's lieutenant and the top commander of the Beltrán Leyva organization, Alfredo Beltrán Leyva (also known as El Mochomo , or "Desert Ant"), in Culiacán in January 2008, with Guzmán believed to have given up El Mochomo for various reasons. Guzmán had expressed concerns with Alfredo Beltrán's lifestyle and high-profile actions for some time before his arrest. After El Mochomo's arrest, authorities said he

14141-543: The United States than any other trafficker in history. Guzmán's leadership of the cartel also brought immense wealth and power; Forbes ranked him as one of the most powerful people in the world between 2009 and 2013, while the Drug Enforcement Administration estimated that he matched the influence and wealth of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar . Guzmán was first captured in 1993 in Guatemala and then

14320-460: The United States than anyone else. He took advantage of the power vacuum created by crackdowns on cartels in Colombia, gaining business and market share there as Colombia's own cartels were decimated. He took similar advantage of the situation when his rival cartels were brought down by an intense crackdown from the Mexican government, but the Sinaloa gang emerged largely unscathed. After the fall of

14499-471: The United States. 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

14678-473: The United States. 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. 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. According to

14857-504: The United States. Aside from pioneering the tunnels, Palma and Guzmán packed cocaine into chili pepper cans under the brand "La Comadre" before they were shipped to the U.S. by train. In return, the drug lords were paid through large suitcases filled with millions of dollars in cash. These suitcases were flown from the U.S. to Mexico City, where corrupt customs agents at the airport made sure the deliveries were not inspected. Large sums of that money were reportedly used as bribes for members of

15036-416: 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. The Sinaloa Cartel was partially splintered in 2008 when the Beltrán-Leyva brothers broke apart from the cartel. The Sinaloa Cartel has been waging

15215-449: 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. President Rodrigo Duterte further confirmed the presence of the Sinaloa Cartel in the Philippines, saying that the cartel uses

15394-444: The aircraft and the gunmen escaped. 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

15573-534: The airport parking lot awaiting a flight to Puerto Vallarta. Having spotted the white Mercury Grand Marquis car where Guzmán was thought to be hiding, about 20 gunmen of the Tijuana Cartel descended from their vehicles and opened fire at around 4:10 p.m. However, the drug lord was inside a green Buick sedan a short distance from the target. Inside the Mercury Grand Marquis was the cardinal and archbishop of Guadalajara Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo , who died at

15752-456: The arrest of Guzmán, highlighting its importance in the international efforts against drug trafficking. Colombia's Defense Minister, Juan Carlos Pinzón , congratulated Mexico on Guzmán's arrest and stated that his capture "contributes to eradicate this crime ( drug trafficking ) in the region". The Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina congratulated the Mexican government for the arrest. Costa Rica 's President Laura Chinchilla congratulated

15931-476: 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, 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

16110-461: 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. On 29 July 2010, Ignacio Coronel was killed in a shootout with the Mexican military in Zapopan , Jalisco . Guzmán was captured on 22 February 2014, overnight by American and Mexican authorities. On 11 July 2015, he escaped from

16289-407: The arrests of his enemies in the Juárez Cartel, in addition to information that led to the arrests of some of the top Sinaloa leaders. The arrests were speculated by some to have been part of a deal Guzmán struck with Calderón and the DEA, in which he intentionally gave up some of his purported Sinaloa colleagues to U.S. agents in exchange for immunity from prosecution, while perpetuating the idea that

16468-568: The attack, stating it was "a criminal act" that targeted innocent civilians, but he did not give any indications of the involvement of organized crime. The death of Cardinal Posadas Ocampo, a high-profile religious figure, outraged the Mexican public, the Catholic Church, and many politicians. The government responded by carrying out a massive manhunt to arrest the people involved in the shootout, and offered about US$ 5 million bounties for each of them. Pictures of Guzmán's face, previously unknown to

16647-552: The authorities thought that he was likely hiding in the "Golden Triangle" (Spanish: Triángulo Dorado ), an area that encompasses parts of Sinaloa, Durango, and Chihuahua in the Sierra Madre region. The region is a major producer of marijuana and opium poppies in Mexico, and its remoteness from the urban areas makes it an attractive territory for the production of synthetic drugs in clandestine laboratories and for its mountains that offer potential hideouts. Guzmán reportedly commanded

16826-455: The back of their heads. Their bodies were dumped on the outskirts of the city. Shortly after the attack, a car bomb exploded outside one of Guzmán's properties in Culiacán. No injuries were reported, but the drug lord became fully aware of the intended message. Guzmán and Palma struck back against the Arellano Félix brothers (Tijuana Cartel) with nine killings on 3 September 1992 in Iguala ; among

17005-528: The boss of bosses. Coronel Villarreal proved so reliable in the Guzmán business that he became known as the "Crystal King". While still in prison in Mexico, Guzmán was indicted in San Diego on U.S. charges of money laundering and importing tons of cocaine into California, along with his Sinaloa attorney Humberto Loya-Castro, or Licenciado Perez ("Lawyer Perez"), who was charged with bribing Mexican officials on Sinaloa's behalf and making sure that any cartel members arrested were released from custody. After

17184-408: The brothers' top commander, but he was killed in a shootout with Mexican marines the next year. Whether Guzmán was responsible for Alfredo Beltrán's arrest is not known. However, the Beltrán Leyvas and their allies suspected he was behind it, and after Alfredo Beltrán's arrest, a formal "war" was declared. An attempt on the life of cartel head Zambada's son Vicente Zambada Niebla ( El Vincentillo )

17363-474: 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

17542-497: 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. 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

17721-485: The cartel remains Mexico's most dominant drug cartel. 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, as well as Guzmán's other sons, Alfredo Guzmán Salazar , Joaquín Guzmán López and Iván Archivaldo Guzmán Salazar , until 2024 when both Zambada and Joaquín Guzmán López were arrested by US authorities in El Paso, Texas. The cartel has had

17900-490: The country as a trans-shipment point for drugs smuggled into the United States. The presence of the cartel in the Philippines has worsened the ongoing war between drug lords, drug cartels and the government in that country. 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. El Buda served as

18079-439: The country. People he trusted purchased the properties for him and registered them under false names. Most of them were located in residential neighborhoods and served as stash houses for drugs, weapons, and cash. Guzmán also owned several ranches across Mexico, but most of them were located in the states of Sinaloa, Durango, Chihuahua, and Sonora, where locals working for the drug lord grew opium and marijuana. The first time Guzmán

18258-406: The crackdown, but the Sinaloa gang was relatively unaffected and took over the rival gangs' territories, including the coveted Ciudad Juárez-El Paso corridor, in the wake of the power shifts. A Newsweek investigation alleges that one of Guzmán's techniques for maintaining his dominance among cartels included giving information to the DEA and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that led to

18437-404: The cultivation of opium poppy, a common practice among local residents. During harvest season, Guzmán and his brothers hiked the hills of Badiraguato to cut the bud of the poppy. Once the plant was stacked in kilos, his father sold the harvest to other suppliers in Culiacán and Guamúchil . He sold marijuana at commercial centers near the area while accompanied by Guzmán. His father spent most of

18616-503: The dead were lawyers and family members of Félix Gallardo, who was also believed to have orchestrated the attack against Palma's family. Mexico's Attorney General formed a special unit to look into the killings, but the investigation was called off after the unit found that Guzmán had paid off some of the top police officials in Mexico with $ 10 million, according to police reports and confessions of former police officers. In November 1992, gunmen of Arellano Félix attempted to kill Guzmán as he

18795-558: The deliveries arrived in the United States. Guzmán earned enough standing and began working for Félix Gallardo directly. Throughout most of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Mexican drug traffickers were also middlemen for the Colombian trafficking groups, and transported cocaine across the Mexico–U.S. border. Mexico, however, remained a secondary route for the Colombians, given that most of

18974-454: 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, the gunmen boarded a commercial jet. When the jet landed at the Tijuana airport, both police and military units failed to cordon off

19153-399: 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

19332-587: 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 . and presence in other regions in Latin America, as well as cities across

19511-490: The drug trafficking operations in the Caribbean corridor. Realizing it was more profitable to hand over the operations to their Mexican counterparts, the Colombian cartels gave Félix Gallardo more control over their drug shipments. This power shift gave the Mexican organized crime groups more leverage over their Central American and South American counterparts. During the 1980s, however, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

19690-630: 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. 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

19869-542: The drug world" and strongly estimates he surpassed the influence and reach of Pablo Escobar . In 2013, the Chicago Crime Commission named Guzmán "Public Enemy Number One" for the influence of his criminal network in Chicago (however, there is no evidence Guzmán has ever visited the city). The last person to receive such notoriety was Al Capone in 1930. At the time of his 2014 arrest, Guzmán imported more drugs into

20048-595: The drugs trafficked by their cartels were smuggled through the Caribbean and the Florida corridor. Félix Gallardo was the leading drug baron in Mexico and friend of Juan Ramón Matta-Ballesteros , but his operations were still limited by his counterparts in South America. In the mid-1980s, however, the U.S. government increased law enforcement surveillance and put pressure on the Medellín and Cali cartels by effectively reducing

20227-452: 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

20406-507: 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. 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

20585-499: The first time, the Colombians would not have to be paid – they simply joined methamphetamine with cocaine shipments. This fact meant no additional money was needed for airplanes, pilots, boats and bribes; they used the existing infrastructure to pipeline the new product. Until this point, the Sinaloa Cartel had been a joint venture between Guzmán and Ismael Zambada García; the methamphetamine business would be Guzmán's alone. He cultivated his own ties to China, Thailand and India to import

20764-460: The founders of the CJNG), which had supposedly been betrayed. CJNG co-founder Emilio Alejandro Pulido Saldaña, "El Tiburón," would join the Nueva Plaza Cartel as well and was one of the cartel's first bosses. It is reported that the group disputes the municipalities of Zapopan, Tonalá, Tlajomulco de Zúñiga and Tlaquepaque, the main centers of operations of both drug cartels, in addition to having funding from

20943-408: The fourth floor by the elevators and stairs. Once they were at Guzmán's front door, they broke into the apartment and stormed its two rooms. In one of the rooms was Guzmán, lying in bed with his wife (former beauty queen Emma Coronel Aispuro ). Their two daughters were reported to have been at the condominium during the arrest. Guzmán tried to resist arrest physically, but he did not attempt to grab

21122-589: The government on 8 November 2018. 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

21301-415: The hands of his father, through whom he also entered the drug trade, helping him grow marijuana for local dealers during his early adulthood. Guzmán began working with Héctor Luis Palma Salazar by the late 1970s, one of the nation's rising drug lords. He helped Salazar map routes to move drugs through Sinaloa and into the United States. He later supervised logistics for Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo , one of

21480-499: The hired gunmen from Logan Heights. 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. 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

21659-581: 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")

21838-536: The leader of the Sinaloa Cartel's drug trafficking activities and shipments from Central and South America. 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. Following the 2003 arrest of Gulf Cartel leader Osiel Cárdenas Guillén, it

22017-467: 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

22196-417: The level of the tibia, kneecap, and femur, as well as marks by electric tweezers, his eyes and tongue were extracted while he was still alive, as well as several other injuries around his body such as knife lacerations and broken ribs along with three bullet wounds to the head, Which was the presumed cause of death. After the death of El Cholo, it is known that the successor is Erick Valencia Salazar "El 85", who

22375-450: The local gangs most actively working with the cartel. 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. The Sinaloa Cartel has operations in the Philippines as a trans-shipment point for drugs smuggled into

22554-401: The military he had begun venturing out to Culiacán and the beach town of Mazatlán . A week before he was caught, Guzmán and Zambada were reported to have attended a family reunion in Sinaloa. On 16 February 2014, the Mexican military followed the bodyguards' tips to Guzmán's former wife's house, but they had trouble ramming the steel-reinforced front door, which allowed Guzmán to escape through

22733-402: 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

22912-547: The municipality of Huixquilucan , by military personnel working with the Mexican Attorney General's office ( PGR ). "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

23091-466: The nation's leading kingpins in the mid 1980s, but Guzmán founded his own cartel in 1988 after Félix's arrest. Guzmán oversaw operations whereby mass cocaine , methamphetamine , marijuana , and heroin were produced, smuggled into, and distributed throughout the United States and Europe, the world's largest users. He achieved this by pioneering the use of distribution cells and long-range tunnels near borders, which enabled him to export more drugs to

23270-638: The native Sinaloa region), also known as the Guzmán-Loera Organization , the Federation , the Blood Alliance , or the Pacific Cartel , is a large, transnational organized crime syndicate based in the city of Culiacán, Sinaloa , Mexico 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

23449-524: The necessary precursor chemicals. Throughout the mountains of the states of Sinaloa, Durango , Jalisco , Michoacán and Nayarit , Guzmán constructed large methamphetamine laboratories and rapidly expanded his organization. His nomadic existence allowed him to nurture contacts throughout the country. He was now operating in 17 of the 31 Mexican states. With his business expanding, he placed his trusted friend Ignacio Coronel Villarreal in charge of methamphetamine production; this way Guzmán could continue being

23628-578: The organization to work under his reign with seemingly, relative autonomy. 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. 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. On September 15, 2023, Ovidio would be extradited to

23807-475: The partnership of their rivals, the Gulf Cartel and Tijuana Cartel. 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. 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

23986-455: The presence of an aircraft 10 minutes away from Guzmán's location, giving him ample time to escape the scene and avoid arrest. In addition, his gunmen reportedly carried surface-to-air missiles that may bring down aircraft in the area. Although Guzmán had hidden for long periods in remote areas of the Sierra Madre mountains without being captured, the arrested members of his security team told

24165-414: The prison, including the facility's director, who is now in prison for aiding in the escape. One prison guard who came forward to report the situation at the prison disappeared 7 years later, and was presumed to have been killed on the orders of Guzmán. Guzmán allegedly had the prison guards on his payroll, smuggled contraband into the prison and received preferential treatment from the staff. In addition to

24344-466: The prison-employee accomplices, police in Jalisco were paid off to ensure he had at least 24 hours to get out of the state and stay ahead of the military manhunt. The story told to the guards being bribed not to search the laundry cart was that Guzmán was smuggling gold, ostensibly extracted from rock at the inmate workshop, out of the prison. The escape allegedly cost Guzmán $ 2.5 million. Since his 2001 escape from prison, Guzmán had wanted to control

24523-399: The profits on liquor and women and often returned home with no money. Tired of his mismanagement, Guzmán cultivated his own marijuana plantation at age 15 with cousins Arturo , Alfredo , Carlos , and Héctor Beltrán Leyva , and he supported his family with his marijuana production. When he was a teenager, his father kicked him out of the house, and he went to live with his grandfather. It

24702-893: The progress made in arresting others in the aftermath of Guzmán's escape, including a handful of his foremost logistics and security men, the huge military and federal police manhunt failed to capture Guzmán for years. In the years between his escape and capture, he was Mexico's most-wanted man. His elusiveness from law enforcement made him a near-legendary figure in Mexico's narcotics folklore; stories abounded that Guzmán sometimes strolled into restaurants, his bodyguards confiscating peoples' cellphones, he ate his meal, and then left after paying everyone's tab. Rumors circulated of Guzmán being seen in different parts of Mexico and abroad. For more than thirteen years, Mexican security forces coordinated many operations to re-arrest him, but their efforts were largely in vain as Guzmán appeared to be steps ahead from his captors. Although his whereabouts were unknown,

24881-450: The public, started to appear in newspapers and television across Mexico. Fearing his capture, Guzmán fled to Tonalá, Jalisco , where he reportedly owned a ranch. The drug lord then fled to Mexico City and stayed at a hotel for about ten days. He met with one of his associates in an unknown location and handed him US$ 200 million to provide for his family in case of his absence. He gave that same amount to another of his employees to make sure

25060-600: The remote forests and deserts of California . 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 . Due to

25239-592: The restroom when the raid started and reportedly escaped through an air-conditioning duct before leaving the scene in one of their vehicles. On 9 and 10 December 1992, four alleged associates of Félix Gallardo were killed. The antagonism between Guzmán's Sinaloa Cartel and the Arellano Félix clan left several more dead and was accompanied by more violent events in the states of Baja California, Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango, Jalisco, Guerrero, Michoacán and Oaxaca. The war between both groups continued for six more months, yet none of their respective leaders were killed. In mid-1993,

25418-462: The scene from fourteen gunshot wounds. Six other people, including the cardinal's chauffeur, were caught in the crossfire and killed. Amidst the shootout and confusion, Guzmán escaped and headed to one of his safe houses in Bugambilias, a neighborhood 20 minutes away from the airport. The night the cardinal was killed, Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari flew to Guadalajara and condemned

25597-414: 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. 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

25776-489: The seizure of more than $ 59 million in cash and numerous vehicles, planes, and boats. 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. On 20 August 2009, the DEA broke up a large Mexican drug operation in Chicago, and uncovered

25955-544: The smuggler himself by shooting him in the head. Those around him learned that cheating him or going with other competitors—even if they offered better prices—was unwise. The leaders of the Guadalajara Cartel liked Guzmán's business acumen, and in the early 1980s introduced him to Félix Gallardo, one of the major drug lords in Mexico at that time. Guzmán worked as a chauffeur for Félix Gallardo, before being put in charge of logistics, where Guzmán coordinated drug shipments from Colombia to Mexico by land, air, and sea. Palma ensured

26134-459: The states of Sonora and Baja California with the U.S. states of Arizona and California. When Félix Gallardo was arrested, Guzmán reportedly lived in Guadalajara , Jalisco for some time. One of his other centers of operation, however, was in the border city of Agua Prieta , Sonora, where he coordinated drug trafficking activities more closely. Guzmán had dozens of properties in various parts of

26313-479: The suspected betrayal, Félix Gallardo and his men exacted revenge when they kidnapped, tortured, and killed Camarena in February 1985. The death of Camarena outraged Washington, and Mexico responded by carrying out a massive manhunt to arrest those involved in the incident. Guzmán took advantage of the internal crisis to gain ground within the cartel and take over more drug trafficking operations. In 1989, Félix Gallardo

26492-539: The third wave and eventually turning into the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history. 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. The cartel appears to still have major methamphetamine operations in cities throughout the U.S., such as in San Diego and Atlanta . The CDS as well as other large Mexican cartels have set up major marijuana growing operations in

26671-523: The time) was Sinaloa, with the city of Culiacán acting as its headquarters. In the late 1980s, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) believed the Sinaloa Cartel was the largest drug trafficking organization operating in Mexico. 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

26850-551: The turf war. The wave of violence spread to other cities such as Guamúchil, Guasave and Mazatlán. However, the Beltrán Leyva brothers were involved in some double-dealing of their own. Arturo and Alfredo had met with leading members of Los Zetas in Cuernavaca , where they agreed to form an alliance to fill the power vacuum. They would not necessarily go after the main strongholds, such as the Sinaloa and Gulf Cartel; instead, they would seek control of southern states like Guerrero (where

27029-552: 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. 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. Joaqu%C3%ADn %22El Chapo%22 Guzm%C3%A1n Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera ( Spanish: [xoaˈkin aɾtʃiˈβaldo ɣusˈman loˈeɾa] ; born 4 April 1957), commonly known as " El Chapo ",

27208-484: The wave of violence that occurred in Jalisco during those weeks. The body of El Cholo was abandoned in a public square in the municipality of Tlaquepaque , along with a drug message embedded in his torso with a knife. The abandonment of the body in a public square was seen by various media as proof of the ungovernability of the area. According to the autopsy carried out by forensics, It was revealed that El Cholo had seven of his toes broken and one cut off, Both legs broken at

27387-671: Was a high-ranking member of the Sinaloa Cartel. 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

27566-633: Was a pioneer drug lord in the Mexican state of Sinaloa in the late 1960s. He is considered to be, along with Vicenete Carrillo Leyva the first generation of major Mexican drug smugglers of marijuana who marked the birth of large-scale Mexican drug trafficking. He also pioneered the use of aircraft to smuggle drugs to the United States. 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 would claim they learned all they knew about 'narcotraficantes' while serving in

27745-429: 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

27924-597: Was arrested; while in prison and through a number of envoys, the drug lord called for a summit in Acapulco , Guerrero . In the conclave, Guzmán and others discussed the future of Mexico's drug trafficking and agreed to divide the territories previously owned by the Guadalajara Cartel. The Arellano Félix brothers formed the Tijuana Cartel , which controlled the Tijuana corridor and parts of Baja California ; in Chihuahua state,

28103-400: Was born on 4 April 1957 into a poor family in the rural community of La Tuna, Badiraguato, Sinaloa , Mexico . His parents were Emilio Guzmán Bustillos and María Consuelo Loera Pérez. His paternal grandparents were Juan Guzmán and Otilia Bustillos, and his maternal grandparents were Ovidio Loera Cobret and Pomposa Pérez Uriarte. For many generations, his family lived at La Tuna. His father

28282-446: Was conducting undercover groundwork in Mexico, where several of its agents worked as informants. One DEA agent, Enrique Camarena Salazar , was working as an informant and grew close to many top drug barons, including Félix Gallardo. In November 1984, the Mexican military—acting on the intelligence information provided by Camarena—raided a large marijuana plantation owned by the Guadalajara Cartel and known as "Rancho Búfalo". Angered by

28461-681: Was detected by U.S. authorities for his involvement in organized crime was in 1987, when several protected witnesses testified in a U.S. court that Guzmán was in fact heading the Sinaloa Cartel. An indictment issued in the state of Arizona alleged that Guzmán had coordinated the shipment of 2,000 kg (4,400 lb) of marijuana and about 4,700 kg (10,400 lb) of cocaine from 19 October 1987 to 18 May 1990, and had received roughly US$ 1.5 million in drug proceeds that were shipped back to his home state. Another indictment alleged that Guzmán earned US$ 100,000 for trafficking 32,000 kg (70,000 lb) of cocaine and an unspecified amount of marijuana in

28640-628: Was during his adolescence that Guzmán gained the nickname "El Chapo", Mexican slang for "shorty", for his 1.68-metre (5 ft 6 in) stature and stocky physique. Most people in Badiraguato worked in the poppy fields of the Sierra Madre Occidental for most of their lives, but Guzmán left his hometown in search of greater opportunities through his uncle Pedro Avilés Pérez , one of the pioneers of Mexican drug trafficking. He left Badiraguato in his twenties and joined organized crime. During

28819-581: Was escorted by two Navy helicopters and one from the Mexican Air Force. Surveillance inside the penitentiary and surrounding areas was increased by a large contingent of law enforcement. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto confirmed the arrest through Twitter and congratulated the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), Secretariat of the Navy (SEMAR), Office of the General Prosecutor (PGR),

28998-420: Was extradited and sentenced to 20 years in prison in Mexico for murder and drug trafficking. He bribed multiple prison guards and escaped from a federal maximum-security prison in 2001. His status as a fugitive resulted in an $ 8.8 million combined reward from Mexico and the U.S. for information leading to his capture, and he was arrested in Mexico in 2014. He escaped prior to formal sentencing in 2015, through

29177-487: Was highly restricted; the cells are without windows, inmates are not allowed to interact with each other, and they are not permitted to contact their family members. His cell was close to those of José Jorge Balderas ( alias "El JJ"), former lieutenant of the Beltrán Leyva Cartel, and Jaime González Durán ( alias "El Hummer"), a former leader of Los Zetas drug cartel. Miguel Ángel Guzmán Loera, one of his brothers,

29356-533: Was immediately taken to the Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1 (often referred to simply as "La Palma" or "Altiplano"), a maximum-security prison in Almoloya de Juárez , State of Mexico . He was sentenced to 20 years, nine months in prison on charges of drug trafficking, criminal association and bribery. Initially jailed at Federal Social Readaptation Center No. 1, on 22 November 1995, he

29535-411: Was in charge of the Juárez Cartel at the time. On 11 September 2004, Rodolfo, his wife and two young children were visiting a Culiacán shopping mall. While leaving the mall, escorted by police commander Pedro Pérez López, the family was ambushed by members of Los Negros , assassins for the Sinaloa Cartel. Rodolfo and his wife were killed; the policeman survived. The city was no longer controlled only by

29714-484: Was in charge of two hit squads, money laundering, transporting drugs and bribing officials. That high-profile arrest was followed by the arrest of 11 Beltrán Leyva hit squad members in Mexico City, with police noting that the arrests were the first evidence that Sinaloa had expanded into the capital city. U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza called the arrests a "significant victory" in the drug war. With Alfredo in custody, his brother Arturo Beltrán Leyva took over as

29893-493: Was in one of the other units. Guzmán was alone in his cell, and had one bed, one shower, and a single toilet. His lawyer was Óscar Quirarte. Guzmán was allowed to receive visits from members of his family every nine days from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (if approved by a judge), and was granted by law the right to receive MXN$ 638 (about US$ 48) every month to buy products for personal hygiene. He lived under 23 hours of solitary confinement with one hour of outdoor exposure. He

30072-580: Was in prison, Guzmán's drug empire and cartel continued to operate unabated, run by his brother, Arturo Guzmán Loera, known as El Pollo , with Guzmán himself still considered a major international drug trafficker by Mexico and the U.S. even while he was behind bars. Associates brought him suitcases of cash to bribe prison workers and allow the drug lord to maintain his opulent lifestyle even in prison, with prison guards acting like his servants. He met his longtime mistress and later Sinaloa associate, former police officer Zulema Hernández, while in prison, where she

30251-424: Was initially granted an injunction preventing immediate extradition to the United States. On 25 February, a Mexican federal judge set the trial in motion for drug-related and organized crime charges, On 4 March 2014, a Mexican federal court issued a formal charge against Guzmán for his involvement in organized crime. On 5 March 2014, a Mexico City federal court rejected Guzmán's injunction against extradition to

30430-526: Was made only hours after the declaration. Dozens of killings followed in retaliation for that attempt. The Beltrán Leyva brothers ordered the assassination of Guzmán's son, Édgar Guzmán López, on 8 May 2008, in Culiacán, which brought massive retaliation from Guzmán. They were also in conflict over the allegiance of the Flores brothers, Margarito and Pedro, leaders of a major, highly lucrative cell in Chicago responsible for distributing over two tons of cocaine every month. The Mexican military claims that Guzmán and

30609-456: Was officially a cattle rancher, as were most in the area where he grew up; according to some sources, however, he might also have been a gomero , an opium poppy farmer. He has two younger sisters named Armida and Bernarda and four younger brothers named Miguel Ángel, Aureliano, Arturo, and Emilio. He had three unnamed older brothers who reportedly died of natural causes when he was very young. Few details are known about Guzmán's upbringing. As

30788-431: Was only allowed to speak with people during his judicial hearings (the prison guards that secured his cell were not allowed to speak with him). Unlike the other inmates, Guzmán was prohibited from practicing sport or cultural activities. These conditions were court-approved and could only be changed if a federal judge decided to amend them. On 24 February, the Mexican government formally charged Guzmán for drug trafficking,

30967-477: Was rejected, another federal court issued formal charges against Guzmán, totaling up to five different Mexican federal courts where he was wanted for drug trafficking and organized crime charges. The court explained that although Guzmán faces charges in several different courts, he cannot be sentenced for the same crime twice because that would violate Article 23 of the Constitution of Mexico . On 17 April 2014,

31146-407: Was serving time for armed robbery. Hernández later controlled Sinaloa's expansion into Mexico City, but in 2008 her body was found in a trunk, carved with multiple Zs, signifying Los Zetas , Sinaloa's archrivals. Guzmán's Sinaloa Cartel, at the time of his arrest, was the wealthiest and most powerful of Mexico's drug cartels. It smuggled multi-ton cocaine shipments from Colombia through Mexico to

31325-478: 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

31504-424: Was then transported in the trunk of a car driven by Camberos out of the town. At a petrol station, Camberos went inside, but when he came back, Guzmán was gone on foot into the night. According to officials, 78 people have been implicated in his escape plan. Camberos is in prison for his assistance in the escape. The police say Guzmán carefully masterminded his escape plan, wielding influence over almost everyone in

31683-419: 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 , Juan Jose Esparragoza and Joaquín Guzmán Loera. During this time, Sinaloa was considered to be at

31862-436: Was transferred to another maximum security prison, Federal Center for Social Rehabilitation No. 2 (also known as "Puente Grande") in Jalisco, after being convicted of three crimes: possession of firearms, drug trafficking and the murder of Cardinal Ocampo (the charge would later be dismissed by another judge). He had been tried and sentenced inside the federal prison on the outskirts of Almoloya de Juárez, Mexico State. While he

32041-427: Was traveling in a vehicle through the streets of Guadalajara. Ramón and at least four of his henchmen shot at the moving vehicle with AK-47 rifles, but the drug lord managed to escape unharmed. The attack forced Guzmán to leave Guadalajara and live under a false name under fears of future attacks. He and Palma, however, responded to the assassination attempt in a similar fashion; several days later, on 8 November 1992,

#101898