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‘Ruthless’ Mexican cartels now in all 50 states, drug turf wars rage in US

May 20, 2024 | | Print Article

According to a new report by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Mexico’s “most powerful and ruthless” cartels are operating in all 50 states now and turf wars are ensuing in American cities.

“The Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels have flooded major U.S. cities with meth and fentanyl and use violence to protect their turf, the report found,” Fox News reported.

“The deadly reach of the Mexican Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels into U.S. communities is extended by the wholesale-level traffickers and street dealers bringing the cartels’ drugs to market, sometimes creating their own deadly drug mixtures,” the DEA’s National Drug Threat Assessment report warns. “Together, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels have caused the worst drug crisis in U.S. history.”

The report breaks out the leadership structure of the cartels here in the U.S. It also shows the areas they control and their general operation layout.

(Video Credit: Fox10 Phoenix)

“Synthetic drugs like fentanyl are more potent than plant-based drugs, cheaper to make and easier to move, which allows both cartels to infiltrate America and control all aspects of the drug trade from production to delivery,” Fox News noted.

“Sinaloa and Jalisco have ‘effectively eliminated any competition in U.S. markets’ and ‘dictate the flow of nearly all illicit drugs’ into the country, according to the report, which notes that thousands of cartel-linked dealers currently operate in the U.S.,” the media outlet added.

Roque Bustamante, aka the “Skittles Man,” was one of seven Sinaloa Cartel members busted last week in Florida for allegedly trafficking thousands of Mexican-made fentanyl pills, according to federal prosecutors. He allegedly got the name for selling large amounts of rainbow-colored fentanyl pills.

“An undercover law enforcement operation also busted the cartel members arranging a weapons-smuggling operation into Mexico, including .50 caliber high-powered rifles, court documents allege,” Fox News noted.

“During the investigation, the DEA seized about 21 kilograms of pure fentanyl, 70,000 rainbow-colored fentanyl pills, 3,000 M30 blue fentanyl pills, 243 pounds of crystal meth, two kilos of cocaine, and 24 guns, including 18 rifles and six pistols,” the media outlet continued.

“In late April, 12 traffickers tied to the Jalisco cartel were sentenced to 4.5 to 40 years in federal prison after they were busted in Del Rio, Texas, in 2021 for coordinating a shipment of nearly 200 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine worth $9.9 million,” Fox News explained. “Over the course of that particular investigation, law enforcement seized about 650 kilograms of methamphetamine, 17 guns, $220,922 in cash, and $12,200 in real and personal property, federal North Texas prosecutors said.”

Even more horrific are the number of fentanyl-related deaths which amounted to 38,000 in the first half of 2023. That number is continuing to skyrocket.

“Fentanyl is the deadliest threat the U.S. has ever faced,” the report alarmingly claims. “Fentanyl and other synthetic drugs, like methamphetamine, are responsible for nearly all the fatal drug overdoses and poisonings in our country.”

The DEA conducted “Operation Last Mile” which tracked the Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels’ distribution networks across the U.S. It involved many, many law enforcement agencies that spanned federal to local levels. The operation conducted 1,436 investigations and resulted in 3,337 arrests.

“The DEA seized nearly 44 million fentanyl pills, over 6,500 pounds of fentanyl powder, more than 91,000 pounds of methamphetamine, 8,497 firearms, and over $100 million, according to the report,” Fox News reported.

According to the report, in 2023, law enforcement carried out approximately 600 bulk cash seizures valued at $18 million. All of that occurred within 150 miles of the border. Most of those seizures occurred in Arizona, California, Texas, and New Mexico.

“Operation Overdrive” is set to take place with the DEA targeting Sinaloa and Jalisco cartel members as well.

“DEA’s top operational priority is to relentlessly pursue and defeat the two Mexican drug cartels … that are primarily responsible for driving the current fentanyl poisoning epidemic in the United States,” the report asserts.

The operation reportedly “puts resources into the U.S.’s most violence- and overdose-plagued cities to target the violent dealers who kill thousands of Americans every week with fentanyl and with weapons.”

“The DEA says the Sinaloa Cartel has been trafficking fentanyl since 2012, long before the United States put the synthetic drug at the top of its priority list, and blames Los Chapitos for the decision to make the illegal trade of the substance one of the organization’s main businesses. The agency also points out that their business is bigger than that of their CJNG rivals,” El Pais reported.

“‘The Sinaloa Cartel dominates the fentanyl market through its manipulation of the global supply chain and the proliferation of clandestine fentanyl labs in Mexico,’ it notes. The business model replicates the one used for methamphetamine trafficking, devised more than 25 years ago. The DEA goes beyond describing a commercial scheme and points the finger at the Chinese and Mexican authorities. ‘Despite controls levied by both the Mexican and Chinese governments, the flow of precursor chemicals into Mexico continues unabated,’ the agency states,” the outlet added.

Despite the efforts of the DEA and law enforcement, the cartels’ reach is expanding in the U.S. So are the drug distribution and turf wars which threaten to turn the U.S. into a third-world hellhole reminiscent of much of Mexico.

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