Mexico Drug War Fast Facts – CNN

(CNN) —  

Here’s a take a look at the Mexican Drug War. The Mexican authorities has been preventing a battle with drug traffickers since December 2006. At the identical time, drug cartels have fought one another for management of territory.

Enrique Peña Nieto, who was president from 2012 to 2018, continued the struggle began by President Felipe Calderon in opposition to the cartels and drug-associated violence. An enormous victory for his administration was the 2014 arrest of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the boss of one among Mexico’s strongest drug trafficking operations, the Sinaloa cartel.

Mexican drug cartels absorb between $19 billion and $29 billion annually from drug gross sales within the US.

According to a July 2020 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, about 125,000-150,000 homicides have been organized crime-associated from 2006 to 2018.

The Mexico drug war: Bodies for billions

(Sources: DEA’s 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment, US Dept of Justice, CRS studies)

Beltran Leyva Organization (BLO) – Founded by the 4 Beltran Leyva brothers, Arturo, Carlos, Alfredo and Hector. Formerly aligned with the Sinaloa cartel. All of the brothers have been killed or arrested, however the group continues to function in components of Mexico by way of “loose alliances” with bigger cartels, in accordance with the US Drug Enforcement Agency’s 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment (NDTA). The subgroups depend on the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Juarez Cartel and Los Zetas.

Cartel Jalisco New Generation (CJNG) – Split from the Sinaloa Cartel in 2010, it’s “one of the most powerful and fastest growing in Mexico and the United States,” in accordance with the DEA evaluation. The US Department of Justice believes it’s “one of the five most dangerous transnational criminal organizations in the world,” and chargeable for egregious violence, lack of life and growing volumes of polydrug trafficking. Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, often called “El Mencho,” is believed to be the group’s chief.

Guerreros Unidos (GU) – According to the 2020 NDTA, GU is a splinter group from the BLO and has a working relationship with the CJNG, utilizing the identical transport networks to smuggle medication, which has more and more develop into heroin, to the US.

Gulf Cartel – Based in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, it began in 1920. It cut up with its enforcers, Los Zetas, by 2010, and the fallout between the 2 teams had been referred to as the “most violent in the history of organized crime in Mexico,” in accordance with a 2019 CRS report. The cartel is now splintered into small, competing gangs.

Juarez Cartel and La Linea – Formerly aligned with the Sinaloa Cartel, then started preventing it for management of Ciudad Juarez and the state of Chihuahua. They nonetheless maintain a stake within the main smuggling hall between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, Texas.

La Familia Michoacana – Based within the Michoacan state. Possibly defunct as of 2011. It introduced it could disband in 2010, however some cells are nonetheless lively in Guerrero and Mexico states, in accordance with a CRS report.

Los Zetas Cartel – Comprised of former elite members of the Mexican army. Initially they labored as hit males for the Gulf Cartel, earlier than turning into impartial. The group has a fame for being notably savage and is understood for massacres, killing civilians, leaving physique components in public locations and posting killings on the web. The group’s primary asset shouldn’t be medication, however organized violence, together with theft, extortion, human smuggling and kidnapping, in accordance with a CRS report.

Sinaloa Cartel – Considered to be the dominant drug trafficking group in Mexico, however some specialists imagine in could also be in decline resulting from latest infighting between factions and the rise of CJNG. It was based and led by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who was arrested in 2014, escaped in July 2015, and rearrested in January 2016. He was convicted in a US federal court in February 2019. The cartel could now be working “with a more horizontal leadership structure than previously thought.”

Tijuana/Arellano Felix Cartel – Based in Tijuana. Most of the Arellano Felix brothers have been apprehended or killed. May be regaining power due to an alignment with CJNG.

December 11, 2006 – Newly elected Mexican President Calderon deploys greater than 6,500 Mexican troopers to the state of Michoacán to battle drug traffickers.

2006 – In the primary few weeks of the federal government crackdown on drug trafficking, 62 persons are killed. (Mexican authorities, April 2010)

January 2007 – Captured drug lord Osiel Cardena Guillen, alleged former head of the Gulf cartel, is extradited to the United States.

February 2007 – More than 20,000 Mexican troopers and federal police are unfold out throughout Mexico as a part of President Calderon’s drug battle.

June 25, 2007 – Calderon fires 284 federal police commanders to weed out corruption.

2007 – In the primary full yr of the drug battle, 2,837 persons are killed. (Mexican authorities, April 2010)

January 2008 – Alfredo Beltran Leyva, of the Beltran Leyva Cartel, is arrested by Mexican police in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico.

May 1, 2008 – Roberto Velasco Bravo, Mexico’s director of investigation for organized crime, is killed in Mexico City.

May 8, 2008 – Edgar Eusebio Millan Gomez, Mexico’s federal police chief, and two bodyguards are killed in Mexico City.

May 9, 2008 – The commander of Mexico City’s investigative police power, Esteban Roble Espinosa, is killed exterior his residence.

September 15, 2008 – During an independence day celebration in Morelia’s city sq., grenades are thrown into the group, killing eight individuals. The incident has been described as the primary terrorist-type assault on harmless bystanders in Mexico’s drug battle.

November 1, 2008 – The appearing head of Mexico’s Federal Police, Victor Gerardo Garay, resigns underneath suspicion of corruption.

2008 – In 2008, 6,844 persons are killed in Mexico’s drug battle. (Mexican authorities, April 2010)

November 3, 2009 – The reported head of the Los Zetas drug cartel, Braulio Arellano Dominguez, is killed in a gun battle with Mexican forces in Soledad de Doblado.

December 16, 2009 – Arturo Beltran Leyva, head of the Beltran Leyva cartel, is killed in a shootout with Mexican forces in Cuernavaca.

2009 – The Mexican authorities studies 9,635 deaths in 2009 within the drug battle. (Mexican authorities, April 2010)

January 2010 – Carlos Beltran Leyva is arrested by Mexican authorities in Sinaloa. He is the third Beltran Leyva cartel brother to be captured or killed in two years.

February 25, 2010 – Cardenas Guillen, head of the Gulf Cartel till his seize in 2003, is sentenced to 25 years in jail in Texas. He can be pressured to show over $50 million to the United States.

May 26, 2010 – Pedro Roberto Velazquez Amador, allegedly the chief of the Beltran Leyva cartel in San Pedro, is killed in a shootout with federal forces in northern Mexico.

June 11, 2010 – Edgar Valdez Villarreal, “La Barbie,” an American citizen, is charged with trafficking hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into the United States between 2004 and 2006. He stays a fugitive with a $2 million reward for data resulting in his seize.

June 25, 2010 – A pacesetter within the Sinaloa cartel, Manuel Garibay Espinoza, is arrested in Mexicali.

July 29, 2010 – Ignacio “Nacho” Coronel Villarreal, one of many leaders of the Sinaloa drug cartel, is killed in a army raid in Guadalajara’s suburbs.

August 25, 2010 – The our bodies of 72 migrants from South and Central America are found on a ranch in Tamaulipas state. It is believed the 58 males and 14 ladies have been kidnapped by the Los Zetas cartel and killed for refusing to site visitors medication.

August 30, 2010 – Mexican authorities announce that they’ve captured “La Barbie.”

September 10, 2010 – President Calderon tells CNN en Español, “We live next to the world’s largest drug consumer, and all the world wants to sell them drugs through our door and our window. And we live next to the world’s largest arms seller, which is supplying the criminals.”

September 12, 2010 – A high chief within the Beltran Leyva cartel, Sergio Villarreal, is arrested within the metropolis of Puebla.

November 5, 2010 – Antonio Ezequiel Cardenas Guillen, aka Tony Tormenta, allegedly the top of the Gulf cartel, is killed in a shootout with Mexican forces in Matamoros.

January 2011 – The Mexican authorities says that 34,612 residents have been killed through the 4-yr drug battle.

January 17, 2011 – Flavio Mendez Santiago, one of many unique founders of Los Zetas, is captured close to Oaxaca.

February 15, 2011 – US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agents Jaime Zapata and Victor Avila Jr. are run off the street in Mexico and attacked by a gaggle of armed males who open hearth. Zapata dies and Avila survives a gunshot wound to his leg. The Los Zetas drug cartel is suspected.

February 23, 2011 – Mexican troopers arrest six members of the Los Zetas drug cartel, together with Julian Zapata Espinoza, who’s allegedly chargeable for the demise of US ICE Agent Zapata.

March 5, 2011 – Alleged Los Zetas drug cartel member Mario Jimenez Perez is arrested in reference to Zapata’s homicide.

March 7, 2011 – Alleged Los Zetas drug cartel chief, Marcos Carmona Hernandez, is arrested.

April 2011 – Several mass graves holding 177 our bodies are found in Tamaulipas, the identical space the place the our bodies of 72 migrants have been found in 2010.

April 16, 2011 – Mexican authorities announce the arrest of Martin Omar Estrada Luna – nicknamed “El Kilo,” a presumed chief of the Los Zetas drug cartel. Estrada Luna has been recognized by authorities as one among three prime suspects behind the mass graves found earlier in April.

April 29, 2011 – Former drug cartel chief Benjamin Arellano Felix is extradited to the United States.

May 8, 2011 – Twelve suspected members of the Los Zetas drug cartel and a member of Mexico’s navy are killed in a shootout on a Falcon Lake island. Authorities say the suspected drug traffickers have been storing marijuana on the island.

May 29, 2011 – Ten law enforcement officials, together with a police chief, are arrested on fees of defending the Los Zetas drug cartel.

June 2011 – A congressional report reveals that about 70% of firearms seized in Mexico and submitted to the ATF for tracing got here from the United States. The report covers 29,284 firearms submitted in 2009 and 2010.

June 21, 2011 – Mexican federal police seize Jose de Jesus Mendez Vargas, also referred to as “The Monkey,” the alleged head of La Familia Michoacana cartel in Augascalientes.

July 3, 2011 – Mexican authorities arrest Jesus Enrique Rejon Aguilar, often called “El Mamito,” a reported founding member of the Los Zetas Cartel and allegedly related to ICE Agent Jaime Zapata’s demise.

July 11, 2011 – The US authorities proclaims a plan to require gun sellers in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to report the gross sales of semiautomatic rifles underneath sure circumstances in an effort to stem the stream of weapons to Mexican drug cartels.

July 27, 2011 – Edgar Jimenez Lugo, often called “El Ponchis” or “The Cloak,” a 14-yr-outdated American citizen with suspected drug cartel ties, is discovered responsible of beheading no less than 4 individuals. He is sentenced to 3 years, the utmost for a juvenile, in a Mexican correctional facility.

July 30, 2011 – Mexican authorities announce they’ve Jose Antonio Acosta Hernandez, or “El Diego,” in custody. He is the purported chief of La Linea, the suspected armed department of the Juarez drug cartel, and regarded chargeable for the demise of US Consulate worker Lesley Enriquez and her husband Arthur Redelfs.

August 1, 2011 – Mexican federal police arrest Moises Montero Alvarez, often called “The Korean,” a suspected chief of the Independent Cartel of Acapulco (CIDA) and allegedly related with the murders of 20 Mexican vacationers in 2010.

August 25, 2011 – At least 52 persons are killed in an assault on the Casino Royale in Monterrey, Mexico. Witnesses say as much as six individuals entered the Casino Royale and demanded cash from the supervisor. When the supervisor refused to pay, the constructing was set on hearth.

August 30, 2011 – Mexican officers allege that 5 suspects arrested in reference to the Mexico on line casino hearth are members of the Los Zetas drug cartel. The suspects are recognized as Luis Carlos Carrazco Espinosa; Javier Alonso Martinez Morales, alias “el Javo;” Jonathan Jahir Reyna Gutierrez; Juan Angel Leal Flores; and Julio Tadeo Berrones, alias “El Julio Rayas.”

September 1, 2011 – A Nuevo Leon state police officer, Miguel Angel Barraza Escamilla, is arrested in reference to the on line casino hearth in Monterrey.

September 13, 2011 – A murdered man and girl are discovered hanging from a bridge in Nuevo Laredo. Near their mutilated our bodies is an indication saying they have been killed for denouncing drug cartel actions on a social media web site. The signal additionally threatens to kill others who put up “funny things on the internet.”

October 12, 2011 – A suspected high Los Zetas drug cartel chief, Carlos Oliva Castillo, alias “La Rana,” or “The Frog,” is arrested for allegedly ordering the assault on the Monterrey on line casino.

January 4, 2012 – Benjamin Arellano Felix, a former chief of Mexico’s Tijuana drug cartel, pleads responsible to fees of racketeering and conspiracy to launder cash. The plea deal requires the forfeiture of $100 million to the United States and a most of 25 years in jail.

January 11, 2012 – The workplace of Mexico’s Attorney General releases an announcement saying that almost 13,000 individuals have been killed in drug violence between January and September 2011.

August 31, 2012 – Eduardo Arellano Felix, an alleged senior member of a Tijuana-based drug cartel, is extradited from Mexico to the United States. Arellano Felix was arrested on October 25, 2008, after a gun battle with Mexican forces. He is later sentenced to fifteen years in US jail.

September 3, 2012 – In his ultimate state of the nation tackle, President Calderon defends his authorities’s method to combating crime and medicines and criticizes the United States for offering criminals with virtually “unlimited access” to weapons.

September 4, 2012 – Mexican authorities announce the seize of Mario Cardenas Guillen, also referred to as “M1” and “The Fat One,” a suspected chief of the Gulf cartel.

September 27, 2012 – Mexican marines seize and arrest a person claiming to be Ivan Velazquez-Caballero, alias “El Taliban.” Velazquez Caballero is likely one of the high leaders of Los Zetas. After pleading guilty In 2014, Velazquez-Caballero is sentenced to 30 years in prison in 2017.

October 9, 2012 – Mexican authorities affirm that Mexican marines killed Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, chief of the Zetas cartel, in a shootout on October 7. Lazcano’s physique was stolen from a funeral residence on October 8, however authorities had already taken fingerprints and images to substantiate his id.

July 15, 2013 – Los Zetas cartel chief Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, known as Z-40, is detained by Mexican authorities in an operation in the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas.

August 20, 2013 – Mario Ramirez-Trevino, rating member of the Gulf cartel and also referred to as “X-20,” is captured in Reynosa, a metropolis in Tamaulipas state.

February 22, 2014 – A US official tells CNN that Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, the boss of one among Mexico’s strongest drug trafficking operations, has been arrested in Mexico.

March 9, 2014 – Cartel leader Nazario Moreno Gonzalez, also known as “El Chayo,” “El Doctor” and “El Mas Loco,” The Craziest One,” is fatally shot throughout an arrest try, in accordance with Mexican authorities. He was one of many leaders and primary founders of La Familia Michoacana cartel. This is the second time Mexican officers have claimed Moreno is useless. They additionally introduced his demise in 2010.

October 1, 2014 – Mexican police capture Hector Beltran Leyva, head of the Beltran Leyva drug cartel, in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

October 9, 2014 – Authorities announce that Mexican federal police have captured alleged Juarez Cartel boss Vicente Carrillo Fuentes. In 2019, US authorities announce extra charges against Carrillo Fuentes including “running a continuing criminal enterprise” and other related crimes. He has remained in Mexican custody since his 2014 arrest whereas authorities proceed to hunt his extradition to the US.

March 4, 2015 – Los Zetas drug cartel leader Omar Trevino Morales is apprehended by Mexican authorities in a suburb of Monterrey.

July 11, 2015 – “El Chapo” escapes through a hole in his cell block that led to a tunnel nearly a mile long. Guzman beforehand escaped from jail in 2001 in a laundry cart and eluded authorities for greater than a dozen years till his seize in 2014.

January 8, 2016 – Mexican security forces arrest Guzman in Sinaloa. While on the run, he met with actor Sean Penn in October for an interview revealed in Rolling Stone.

January 29, 2016 – A cross-border raid by US and Mexican regulation enforcement officers ends in the arrest of 24 Sinaloa cartel members. The sting additionally netted weapons and lots of of kilos of narcotics.

February 23, 2016 – Alfredo Beltran Leyva, behind the Beltran Leyva cartel, pleads guilty to taking part in a global narcotic trafficking conspiracy earlier than US District Judge Richard Leon. In 2017, Leyva is sentenced to life in prison.

January 19, 2017 – Mexico’s Foreign Ministry turns Guzman over to US authorities.

March 14, 2017 – Veracruz State Attorney General Jorge Winckler confirms {that a} mass grave containing more than 250 human skulls has been uncovered. The stays seem like victims of organized crime violence killed lately.

May 2, 2017 – Dámaso López Nuñez, a excessive-rating chief of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, is arrested in Mexico City.

December 19, 2017 – The US Department of Justice proclaims the extradition from Mexico to the US of two alleged former Mexican drug cartel leaders – Ramirez-Trevino, alleged former chief of the Mexican Gulf Cartel, and an affiliate of Guzman, Victor Manuel Felix-Felix, alleged chief of a Mexican cash laundering and cocaine trafficking group. Ramirez-Trevino was charged and arrested in 2013 and has been in Mexican custody since. Felix-Felix was indicted in March 2011.

February 9, 2018 – Mexican authorities seize the alleged head of the Los Zetas drug cartel, Jose Maria Guizar Valencia.

June 11, 2018 – “La Barbie” is sentenced to 49 years and one month in jail and fined $192,000, the US Justice Department says.

February 12, 2019 – Guzmán is convicted of 10 counts in a New York federal courtroom. He faces a compulsory life sentence with out the potential of parole for main a unbroken felony enterprise, and a sentence of as much as life imprisonment on drug counts. His attorneys say they plan to file an attraction on a lot of points.

August 8, 2019 – Mexican police discover 19 our bodies in Mexico City. Nine of the our bodies are discovered hanging from an overpass alongside a drug cartel banner threatening rival cartels.

February 20, 2020 – Tirso Martinez Sanchez, a former associate of “El Chapo,” is sentenced to 84 months in prison.

June 16, 2020 – Four months after granting the US request to extradite Rubén Oseguera González, the son of alleged CJNG chief Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, Mexican federal Judge Uriel Villegas Ortiz and his spouse, Verónica Barajas, are killed in entrance of their residence in Colima. It is alleged that Oseguera Cervantes ordered the killing in retaliation for his son’s extradition.

June 26, 2020 – Mexico City’s secretary of public security, Omar Garcia Harfuch, is wounded and three others killed throughout a capturing, says Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum on Twitter moments after the ambush. Following the assault, Garcia Harfuch says on Twitter that he believes CJNG was accountable.