Sinaloa Cartel: Difference between revisions

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the Sinaloa Cartel, under the leadership of figures like [[Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán]] and [[Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada]], expanded its operations significantly, engaging in brutal conflicts with rival cartels and the Mexican government. The cartel diversified its drug portfolio to include [[cocaine]], [[methamphetamine]], and [[heroin]], further solidifying its position as a dominant force in the drug trade. Despite numerous arrests and seizures by law enforcement, the cartel has continued to operate, often employing sophisticated smuggling techniques, including tunnels under the US-Mexico border. It has operations in many world regions but primarily in the [[Mexican states]] of Sinaloa, [[Baja California]], [[Durango]], [[Sonora]], and [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]].<ref name="Wilson">{{cite book|last=Freeman |first=Laurie |title=State of Siege:Drug-Related Violence and Corruption in Mexico |publisher=Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars|url=http://www.wilsoncenter.org/news/docs/State_of_Siege_WOLA.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061104023412/http://www.wilsoncenter.org/news/docs/State_of_Siege_WOLA.pdf |archive-date=4 November 2006}}</ref><ref name="Organized"/> and presence in other regions in Latin America, as well as cities across the U.S.<ref name="InSightChicago"/><ref name="Diálogo Americas">{{cite news |last=Pelcastre |first=Julieta |date=12 May 2021 |title=Mexican Narcotrafficking Cartels Expand their Control in Colombia |work=Diálogo Americas |url=https://dialogo-americas.com/articles/mexican-narcotrafficking-cartels-expand-their-control-in-colombia/#.Yb5QthPMJUM |url-status=live |access-date=25 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918235443/https://dialogo-americas.com/articles/mexican-narcotrafficking-cartels-expand-their-control-in-colombia/#.Yb5QthPMJUM |archive-date=18 September 2021}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Sinaloa Cartel">{{cite web | title=Sinaloa Cartel | website=InSight Crime | date=4 May 2021 | url=https://insightcrime.org/mexico-organized-crime-news/sinaloa-cartel-profile/ | access-date=18 September 2021 | archive-date=18 September 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918203733/https://insightcrime.org/mexico-organized-crime-news/sinaloa-cartel-profile/ | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Understanding">{{cite book |last=Mallory |first=Stephen L |title=Understanding Organized Crime |publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7637-4108-2 |page=67}}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/02/26/where-7-mexican-drug-cartels-are-active-within-the-u-s/|title=Where 7 Mexican drug cartels are active within the U.S.|first=Niraj|last=Chokshi|date=26 February 2014|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=12 July 2015|archive-date=27 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210727034950/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2014/02/26/where-7-mexican-drug-cartels-are-active-within-the-u-s/|url-status=live}}</ref>

 

 

==History==