The latest annual report from the anti-narcotics agency warns that the two criminal groups ‘have effectively eliminated any competition’ and already have a presence in all 50 states of the country
The drug, which was already used as an opioid adulterant in the US and Canada and which significantly increases the risk of overdose, has now appeared in Mexico
EL PAÍS travels along the border of the poorest state in Mexico, a region dominated by criminal groups. From the city of Tapachula to the Lacandon Jungle, passing through the towns of Frontera Comalapa and Chisomuselo, this story illustrates the fight between cartels, the abandonment of the state, the murders, forced displacements, kidnappings and extortions, along with the efforts made by the local and migrant populations to survive
After the latest blows inflicted, the authorities claim the criminal organization has splintered and lost its power; independent researchers argue that it is a hidden monster with deep roots in working-class neighborhoods
The latest Latin music phenomenon is a divisive artist, a Grammy-winner whose lyrics are censored by Spotify and who has been threatened by cartels and asked not to perform in Viña del Mar due to accusations of being ‘a promoter of narco culture’
The black market in cigarettes as a business and money laundering option for organized crime accounts for up to 30% of a $25 billion smuggling industry
Cartels have bragged about the U.S. weaponry. Mexico’s army is finding belt-fed machine guns, rocket launchers and grenades that are not sold for civilian use in the United States
A campaign by animal rights activists won the four-year-old giraffe a transfer to an animal park in Puebla state, where he will join a group of resident giraffes and enjoy a more suitable climate
The 71-year-old drug trafficker, who for years worked under the protection of Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, has been sentenced to 22 years in prison in the US
The countryside is losing millions of hectares of crops due to land being abandoned. Violence and extortion add to the ravages of climate change and the lack of subsidies
Caught between drug violence and the devastating effects of insatiable demand, the southern border clings to naloxone, a medication that can reverse overdoses stemming from opioids. But while it’s saving lives in the United States, it’s virtually impossible to find in Mexico
Consuelo Loera López has died in a Cualiacán hospital, according to local media reports. She was 94 years old
Néstor Isidro Pérez Salas was the head of security for Los Chapitos, the branch of the organization led by the sons of El Chapo, and suspected of orchestrating the violence unleashed in response to the detention of Ovidio Guzmán
Mexico and China are the primary sources for fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked directly into the U.S., according to the Drug Enforcement Administration
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the cartels were fighting for control of the drug smuggling routes that lead into southern Mexico from Central America
An investigation published in ‘Science’ estimates the cartels contain around 175,000 people and recruit some 350 new members every week to cover losses from violence and imprisonment
By forcing their way into more and more sectors, organized crime has become ‘a dominant economic cartel,’ according to analysts
The Department of Justice indictments reveal some of the atrocities committed by the Sinaloa Cartel, which include kidnappings, torture, and the bribery of officials
Candidates for political office can no longer sideline or neglect the women who are looking for their missing loved ones
Historical capos — such as Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada and Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes — have been relegated, as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration establishes new priorities
Congressman Dan Crenshaw has used the disappearance of the five young men to insist that the drug cartels be named ‘enemies of Mexico and the United States’
The Ecuadorian police have arrested six Colombians suspected of participating in the attack against the presidential candidate, during which the gunman was shot dead
More cocaine moves through Ecuador than any other country in the world, meaning cartels like Sinaloa and the CJNG need local criminal organizations to handle transport and logistics
The presidential candidate was assassinated while traveling in a state-provided vehicle that lacked armor despite the multiple threats he had received from organized crime
The three separate indictments unsealed in federal court in New York represent the first prosecutions to charge China-based chemical companies and Chinese nationals with illegally selling the chemicals used to make fentanyl
The singer, originally from Culiacán, Sinaloa, talks about her experience of being the only Mexican act at Coachella and finding an audience in the United States while putting together her third album
For two years, a war between criminal groups has terrorized Frontera Comalapa and its farming communities. Residents and NGOs have denounced an upsurge in violence
