The Sinaloa Cartel

B. Restate thesis/ There has been a large increase in the smuggling of contraband, such as drugs, and firearms, into the U.S, and violence spilling onto our border cities due to the drug wars between the drug cartels in Mexico.

In 1924, the U.S. Border Patrol started its service for our nation. Although changes have affected nearly every aspect of its operations from its earliest days, the values; professionalism, honor, integrity, respect for human life, and a shared effort, helped shape the Border Patrol from the early years and they still remain the same today.

The United States agency of drugs have discovered that for all of the illegal drugs consumed in the nation has been transported by the Mexican cartels. “U.S. federal officials say that the mexican cartels operate in dozens of U.S. cities and analysts say they are moving to consolidate their control of the entire supply chain of illegals drugs”(Schwartz, 1). The government of the United States have been conducting the investigation to now if the cartels are north. Many big cities today have a piece of the cartel organization working there and also producing drugs to distribute within the city. According to the investigation done by the DEA and U.N officials “Mexican cartels have established command - and - control centers to orchestrate cocaine shipments by sea and air along the still wild caribbean coast with the help of local authorities”(Booth, 2). All though that the cartel are moving to the United States they are still leaving command center in mexico to conduct shipments by ground or any other shipments overseas. The cartel is able to transport such quantities of drugs with help of the local authorities and other corrupt government officials.

Mexican drug cartels have been expanding its portfolios to include doing business in sex trafficking. The Zetas are the most feared drug cartel in Mexico’s drug, sex trafficking trade, and etc.; the Zetas are a criminal army made up of defectors from the Mexican military. Anybody who crosses them will more than likely get their heads chopped off or won’t live to see another day.

The Mexican cartels are so powerful mostly because they are being supplied with weapons from the U.S. “A recent weapon seizure in Nuevo Leon, just across the border from Texas, illustrates that drug traffickers may 11, after an armed confrontation, the Mexican army seized 124 assault rifles, 15 handguns three rockets, more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition and 1,375 ammo magazines.”(Ignatius 2). Most of these weapons come from the U.S. In Arizona the Mexican government held 31.946 handguns and 41,093 assault rifles of these weapons 80% percent came from the United States all this according to the Mexican ambassador starting December 2006 and the percent is getting larger (Ignatius1).

Mexican Drug Cartels have been a problem for many years. The cartels are an organized crime organization and they don’t just deal drugs; they commit murders too. The Cartels origins are traced back to the Columbian Cali and Medellin mega-cartels who were responsible for the majority of drug trafficking into the United States. Crime has existed for many years but it surfaced more when Pablo Escobar was popular. Pablo Escobar was one the main transporters for cocaine throughout Mexico and the United States coming straight out of Columbia. Law enforcement tried to stop the drug trade but Escobar formed a relationship with Mexico-based traffickers who smuggled drugs into the United States. Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo also known as “The Godfather” of the cartels. Seeing how he established the Guadalajara Cartel, which is recognized as the first Mexican Cartel, and were the first to link up with Escobar and started the transportation of cocaine

The Gulf Cartel has a intricate reach into the United States through: supply lines, smuggling routes, and communication lines all maintained by lower level leadership in the cartel to ensure products reach their destination and that the money is returned to Mexico. In recent years, The Gulf Cartel has been plagued with several issues including; many high level arrests and the split between the Gulf Cartel and their protection wing, the Zetas. They have been losing leadership and fighting a territorial war with the Zetas, who are heavily invested in the same areas as the Gulf Cartel. The Zeta group exemplifies diversity. They use different ways to gain revenue. When they defected from the Gulf Cartel they were initially

Due to drugs-related gang violence since 2006, when Mexican President Felipe Calderón entered office, more than 100,000 people have been killed (CNN Library, 2017). Among the major Mexican cartels - Los Zetas Cartel, Gulf Cartel, La and La Familia Michoacana, the Sinaloa Cartel is the most dominant drug trafficking organization in Mexico with an increasing presence in the United States. Roughly 80% of illegal substances like heroin, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana are supplied by the Sinaloa Cartel (Woody, 2016). There have been several attempts of increased pressure from both the U.S. and Mexican governments to disrupt drug trafficking organizations and this has led to significant instability and violence escalating into a national security crisis.

The situation in Mexico regarding the Drug Cartels has been an ongoing battle that has taken the life of between 30,000 to 40,000 civilians, cartels henchmen and federal employees. The violence has evolved into something new in recent years. The brutality contributed by the drug cartels could potentially be labeled as terrorist acts. The strong domestic conflict surrounding the drug cartel in Mexico has boiled over the border and into the United States. Illegal drugs enter the United States through various openings along the U.S- Mexican Border. There are nine important crossings, such as Tijuana-San Diego, Mexicali, and Ciudad Juarez-El Paso. From Texas to Southern California, these drugs are handed out throughout the United States via

SinaloaMore…Signal drug cartel, is the biggest and most powerful drug trafficking organization in North, Central and South America. Which was established in the 80s and operates in several Mexican states and many other countries with criminal activities such as money laundering. It has grown far beyond our borders and is now believed to be very influential and a far-reaching drug organization in the United States. The cartel members rely on connections at the highest levels and are led by Mexico's mighty drug lord Joaquin GuzmanGuzman's alias “El Chapo” who recently escaped from a maximum-security prison in Mexico. SinaloaMore…Signal has long been connected with contraband drugs in Mexico, as well as the location for marijuana and poppy cultivation.

“The Sinaloa Cartel was founded by Jaime Hererra Nevares, Ernesto Fonseca Carillo, Eduardo Fernandez, Jorge Escobar, Pedro Aviles Perez, Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, and Hector Luis Palma” (Beith, 2011, p. 68). The Sinaloa Cartel is a culmination of different Mexican drug organizations. Herrera was in charge of an organization that exported heroine from Mexico through Chicago using what is known as the “heroin highway” (Beith, 2011). Eventually the Herrera organization teamed up with Ernesto Fonseca and Jorge Escobar who were key figures in the Sinaloan drug world. The Mexican government launched Operation Condor which forced

The Mexican Mafia, or “La Eme”, as they refer to themselves, is one of the most powerful and influential organized crime gangs in the United States. The organization has risen through the decades of mass gang wars and violence to become the power it is today. Their control is limitless and they have ventured far beyond the expectations of what was thought that gangs were capable of. They have infiltrated governments and manipulated politics. They have taken over neighborhoods and attempted to ethnically cleanse them. Innocent people have become caught up in the affairs of La Eme throughout its history and many have faced violence and death at their hands. This paper is a continual of the case analysis of the Mexican Mafia and will attempt to provide explanations for some of the crimes committed by this organization. Researching gangs and organized crime is important because of their large influence and control over many aspects of daily life. The significance of attempting to provide causations of their crimes can better provide the criminal justice system a clearer understanding of problems that lead to gang members committing crimes on behalf of the organization. A clearer understanding of problems can help the system to provide solutions to combat situations that inhibit crimes.

Recognized as one of the most fearless and violent cartels in all of Mexico, Los Zetas was brought forth by a need for personal security in the Gulf Cartel. This former hit man/security style operation, active since 1997, has since grown into its own ruthless and violent organization becoming the second most powerful cartel and easily the most feared in all of Mexico. Heavily trained and armed, members of Los Zetas are set apart from other cartels because of the level of brutality they are willing to administer to those who cross them, though they had initially hoped that by being more intimidating they would have to fight less. It is their command of the drug market, their lack of fear in using violent tactics, and the

The government has made some gains, but at a heavy price. A total of 34,612 people have died in drug-related killings in Mexico in the first four years (Siddique). Most of these killing are between cartel rivals fighting for the control of territories. There are five cartels operating in Mexico: the Sinaloa, the Gulf, Juarez, Tijuana, the Zetas. The major cartels are the Gulf, Sinaloa and Juarez (Cook 21). Many of these cartels have joined together forming powerful alliances known as the “Federation” (Cook 17). The cartels work together, but they remain independent organizations.

Drug cartels have grown and expanded throughout the interior and exterior of states for many years. The way drugs started to be introduced to Mexico, Colombia, and other places around the world was believed to be a myth. It was a tale that was known by many through storytelling, which over the years turned into an actual realistic issue. One of the most known cartels that existed for a long time was The Medellin Cartel. It became a subculture of its own, creating a world full of violence, women, money, firearms, death but most importantly power and fear. Located in Colombia this brutal subculture will show how they become one of the wealthiest subculture in the world surpassing even its own country’s riches.