The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the oldest of the dominant players in Mexico’s current drug trafficking scene. This group was not the first of its kind in the country, but it has become one of the most powerful. This Cartel has expanded into Europe and has a strong foothold in the United States. It deals predominantly in marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. The cartel is also involved in money laundering through cryptocurrency and the Chinese Underground Banking System.
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1 Images and History of the Sinaloa Cartel
1.1 Images of the Sinaloa Cartel
This is one image that is associated with the Sinaloa Cartel.
1.2 Origins of the Sinaloa Cartel
The origins of the Sinaloa Cartel lie in the older Guadalajara Cartel. This cartel farmed marijuana and poppy plants and then sold these drugs to other parts of Mexico and the United States. “El Chapo” and “El Mayo,” who later went on to establish the Sinaloa Cartel, worked as enforcers for the Guadalajara Cartel throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Following the assassination of undercover DEA agent Enrique Camarena in 1985, the cartel faced increasing law enforcement pressure, which led to the fracturing of the group. Leaders left and different factions established their own operations in cities beyond Guadalajara.
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1.3 The Sinaloa Cartel
The cartel was established in Sinaloa, Mexico in the 1980s. This region is a key location for the production and sale of narcotics and has its own history of production and smuggling. The cartel was formed through a system of alliances. El Chapo, El Azul, El Mayo, and the Beltran-Levya brothers worked together to coordinate the smuggling of cocaine from Columbia to Mexico and the United States.
The Sinaloa Cartel engages in violence, however there are two sides to it. The first is violence in business, which is calibrated to the situation. The second is violence in expansion. The aggressive methods of expansion have led to inner-cartel conflict between rival factions.
Its main operations are in the production and trafficking of narcotics including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. It has also begun to expand into more legitimate businesses. For example, the Cartel has become heavily involved in the fishery industry in Mexico both through legal and illegal means.
Based on the estimates of a 2022 Congressional Research Service, the Sinaloa Cartel controls between forty to sixty per cent of the Mexican drug trade and earns around three billion dollars annually.
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2 Organisation
2.1 Place within broader organized crime
The Sinaloa Cartel is one of the most powerful cartels operating in Mexico and controls a large portion of the drug trade. The Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) is another large, powerful cartel operating in Mexico. The CJNG cartel is one of the Sinaloa Cartel’s largest rivals. The Sinaloa Cartel also has ties with businesses, politicians, and government institutions. Furthermore, the Cartel has distributed citizens social aid packages, which include food, cash, and hand sanitisers. These donations and packages win support among the local people and allow the cartel to continue its operations. In some areas, it serves as an enforcement organization against robberies which helps to win support among the people.
2.2 Business Structure
The Sinaloa Cartel operates in the business of wholesale drug production and distribution. It produces fentanyl and methamphetamine in labs and Mexico; it also cultivates marijuana and poppy. The cartel works out of distribution points in different cities throughout the United States. For example, the group also has control of smuggling routes in Arizona and California. They also have companies located in Mexico and Columbia that support the illicit actions of the cartel.
The Sinaloa Cartel has worked to acquire control over fentanyl, precursor, and pre-precursor imports from China. The group then sells the materials to smaller criminal organizations that produce pills and export the narcotics to other areas. The cartel also uses underground tunnels between the Mexican and American border to smuggle narcotics.
The Sinaloa Cartel does not have a strict hierarchical structure. In the beginning, the organization was led by El Chapo with El Mayo serving as the second-in-command. However, after El Chapo’s arrest and extradition to the United States in 2017, the group began to fracture internally. This led to the appearance of four main factions: one led by El Mayo, a second led by Rafael Caro Quintero who was one of the co-founders of the Guadalajara Cartel, a third led by Aureliano “El Guano” who is the brother to El Chapo, and a fourth faction led by El Chapo’s sons (also known as Los Chapitos). Each faction has its own army that allows them to conduct operations. The vying for power between these groups has resulted in the Sinaloa feud, bloodshed, and increased instability in the Sinaloa region.
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2.3 Key Figures
The Sinaloa Cartel operates as a cooperative alliance of four main groups:
- “Los Chapitos”: El Chapo’s sons run this faction. Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, father to Los Chapitos, was a previous leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. He is currently serving a life sentence in the United States after being detained in 2016. Joaquin Guzman-Lopez is also aligned with Los Chapitos. Joaquin is a current leader of the cartel and the son of former boss Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman. Joaquin Guzman-Lopez surrendered in 2024 and is currently in custody in the US. [source, source, source]
- “El Mayo” faction: Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada is an alleged co-founder of the cartel and is the head of this faction. El Mayo is currently pursuing plea talks after his arraignment in the U.S. in 2024. [source, source]
- “El Guano”: Aureliana “El Guano” Guzman-Loera is the leader of this faction and is the brother of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman-Loera.
- Rafael Caro Quintero: This is the leader of another group under the Sinaloa Cartel.
The lack of a central leader gives each group some freedom in operation. In theory, these four groups work together to produce and traffic narcotics. However, in reality, there are power struggles and internal fighting between these four groups. For example, the Chapitos are fighting for greater control of the Cartel’s activities and routes. [source]
2.4 Recruitment
Methods
The Sinaloa Cartel first recruits from families and individuals already associated with the cartel and its activities. Since the Cartel is looking to expand and improve its narcotics trafficking they are also targeting chemistry students at Mexican universities.
The organization has also utilized social media to advertise their group and lifestyle in the hope of drawing in more members. The group is active on TikTok under the name “La Chapiza”.
Possible Foreign Recruitment
The Sinaloa Cartel has expanded its business dealings into human smuggling to the United States. This has become a prevalent business in Africa, for example. The Cartel on occasion uses individuals looking to get to the United States to smuggle drugs.
Beyond its recruitment of personnel, the Cartel also focuses on creating relationships with other organized crime groups. It has established ties in Turkey, Lebanon, and Brazil. Its ties in China are not only as a way to procure ingredients for the production of narcotics but also to aid in money laundering. The United States Justice Department alleged that the Sinaloa Cartel launders money through the Chinese Underground Banking System.
2.5 Actions by the US and Mexican governments to combat the cartel
Mexico City and Washington have taken actions to combat the growth of the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as others. For example, the U.S. Justice Department has targeted production labs, Chinese supplier companies, and the individuals who work for the cartel. Enforcement agencies have also continued to arrest high-level leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel. For example, in the summer of 2024, a joint FBI and Department of Homeland Security Investigations operation ended with the arrest of El Mayo and Guzman Lopez.
The Mexican government has fought the rise of the cartels, including the Sinaloa Cartel. The Mexican government has mainly tried to use security forces to stymie cartels and curb violence. In January 2025, the Mexican Navy, National Guard, and the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense seized one of the cannabis-producing laboratories in the town of Los Cedros. The United States has given billions of dollars to Mexico in support of counternarcotics operations.
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3 The Future
The Sinaloa Cartel has a strong grip on the drug trade from Mexico to the United States. There are no indications that the flow of drugs is likely to stop or decrease as long as there is a healthy demand for the product. There has already been an increase in violence and rivalry among factions of the Sinaloa Cartel. Given the successful apprehension efforts of top members of the group, it is likely that the trend of rivalry will continue and even cause further splintering.
The Sinaloa Cartel has also diversified its interests beyond the drug trade, which signals the growth of the organization monetarily and in terms of power. It is likely that this trend will continue and that the Sinaloa Cartel will continue to consolidate and improve its position in regards to drug smuggling into America; it will also likely continue to expand into Europe and face competition from Balkan and Russian organized crime groups.
The cartel has worked to expand its relationships with other organized crime groups and producers throughout the world. This is highly likely to continue as it allows the cartel to expand its operations and consolidate its profits and exports.
4 Conclusion
The Sinaloa Cartel has survived and grown as an organization for many years. However, given the current infighting, it is possible that the Sinaloa Cartel could splinter further and lose some of their prominence. The competition to dominate the market is likely to result in increased violence and instability in the Sinaloa region as well as the reworking of their products. The Sinaloa Cartel currently has established ties and markets worldwide and will likely continue to expand in this regard. The Sinaloa Cartel specializes in the drug trade but has ties in other businesses including money laundering. This has allowed it to increase its presence in Mexico and become one of the largest and dominant cartels in the region.
The continuing efforts by American and Mexican law enforcement have resulted in numerous arrests and have affected the workings of the Sinaloa Cartel. The war on drugs and cartels has also continued for many years and is not likely to end soon, especially with the growth that drug trafficking is experiencing across the world.
Gangs and cartels have contributed to disappearances and deaths around the world and will continue to be a concern for security. The operations of the Sinaloa Cartel will also continue to affect citizens who become subject to their rule and the possibility of violence in their neighbourhoods, even as the cartel tries to earn favour through social help packages.
5 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How much is El Chapo worth?
The United States government seized 12.67 billion in US dollars when “El Chapo” was arrested. Prosecutors in charge of this case have claimed that “El Chapo” has even more money, but that has yet to be verified or seized. [source]
How many people work in cartels?
A 2022 study estimated that 160,000 to 185,000 individuals work in the cartel industry.
What does a cartel do?
A cartel is a criminal organization that specializes in different illicit activities. This can include drug trafficking, money laundering, extortion, human trafficking, and other illegal activities. Definitionaly, most cartels are mainly involved in the narcotics trade. [source, source]
